April 11, 2020

This block was stitched by the founder of this project in honor of her Uncle, Joe Glenboski. He tested positive on April 11, 2020, while a resident of a Veteran’s home in Alabama. He likely contracted COVID days prior, as tests were very difficult to come by, and staffing limitations and new protocols did not facilitate a swift process. His was the first VA facility to report cases in the state. Two days after his positive test, his breathing became labored and he was rushed to the hospital via ambulance. He died while in the ER awaiting admission, one of 35 fellow veteran’s from his facility lost to an outbreak that infected 94 or the 143 residents at the time. The sudden nature of this loss was shocking, and especially grievous as family members could not know if Joe died peacefully, in the company of another human, or was alone at the time of his parting. The VA home had been on lock down since mid-March, only allowing distanced outdoor visits through a fence. No family member was allowed to be physically in his proximity, and this lack of physical presence and typical gathering rituals around death and grieving instigated artist Heather Schulte to continue this work far beyond the initial few weeks of the pandemic lock down.

Schulte found the physical action of stitching soothing during the acute phase of grieving her uncle’s loss, and provided time and space to process her feelings. It also physically connected her to a meaningful expression of others who tested positive for COVID on April 11, and whose deaths were reported that day an on April 13, when Joe died. This project is dedicated to the memory of Joe Glenboski, and all the others we lost to this virus.