Lee County couple goes on emotional journey to get vaccinated

Persistence and hope – two words describing one couple who have been trying to get their COVID-19 vaccines.

After missing out on their first chance, they finally had their long-awaited appointment Thursday.

“We were lucky. It’s unfortunate that we have to rely on the luck,” said John Crew.

That luck didn’t come easy.

“We went to the Bonita Springs Library … it was like a mob scene, everybody was pushing forward,” said John’s wife, Caroline.

She couldn’t stick around in that scene, so she left – and tried again.

“Then we started making the phone calls,” she said. “And finally got through and got our name in but they said you’ll get a callback. So we literally sat next to the phone for a day and a half.”

Frustrated but determined, she kept trying. She sent emails to county commissioners, city mayors, and even WINK News. Finally, after eight days, the phone rang.

“When we did get a callback, it actually came to my number even though it was John’s number that was registered.”

Caroline persisted because of the person she cares for most: her husband.

“For me, it’s been … a long year,” an emotional John said. “I had cancer and a heart attack, so this is going to provide security.”

“That was the reason that it really had to happen,” Caroline said.

But she can’t stop thinking about everyone else, because she cares, and she wishes she could try for everyone else, too.

“I know a lot of people who have medical issues who are still trying to call and still trying to get on the list, and I worry about how are they going to get this? How are they going to be able to get an appointment?”

So for now, her message is to “just keep going, just keep trying and working on it.”

The couple told WINK News that the first thing they’ll do once they get the second dose is book a flight to see their daughter, whom they haven’t seen in a year.