‘The last time I saw her’: Family who struggled to communicate with COVID-19 patient raises money to buy iPads for others

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    LANCASTER COUNTY, PA (WPMT ) — A Lancaster County woman and her brother are on a mission to bring technology into every hospital in the country. They’re raising money for iPads, chargers, covers, and more so families can speak to their loved ones while they recover in hospitals.

“My wife of 47 years, she was in the hospital, and we couldn’t see her, and she couldn’t see us,” said Lenny Books tearfully.

Julie Books loved being around people, and family says people loved her right back. They describer her as an adoring wife, mother, and grandmother, who always wore her mask.

“Nobody could come within 10 feet of her or she would have gotten mad,” explained Lenny.

Family shares Julie’s battle with COVID-19.

“We went to a wedding. I got sick. It was very very mild,” explained Lenny. “My wife got sick, and she started coughing a lot. It was Sunday morning, I said, ‘we got to go to the hospital, honey,’ and that was the last time I saw her.”

Karen Pearon, Julie’s daughter, keeps the last text she received from her mom just hours before Julie required a ventilator at Providence Hospital in Michigan.

“I asked how she was doing. She said, ‘terrible. Go check on dad,'” recalls Karen.

“With the current shutdowns taking place in Michigan, it doesn’t matter what floor you’re on, there are no visitors at all,” explained Mike Books, Julie’s son.

Family asked for an iPad so they could communicate with Julie.

“Being that my mom was unresponsive the limit to those iPads was minimal. Most of the iPads went to patients that were able to speak that were able to talk,” explained Pearson.

Pearson says nurses did what they could to help family communicate with Julie. Unfortunately, she says, the hospital just didn’t have enough iPads.

“By the time we were finally able to get in their with an iPad and talk, it was two days before she passed away,” explained Karen.

They say they never want other families to endure the same heartbreak or for patients to feel alone so they created a GoFundMe called ‘iPads for Patients’. It has exploded with support, including from those people who have experienced something similar. So far, Karen and Michael have raised more than $15,000 to buy the tech.

“We’re starting with our local hospitals. My brother, he has a saying, ‘start small. Think big’ so we have the hospitals closest to us,” explained Karen.

Karen says they hope to donate some iPads to Hershey Medical Center, Holy Spirit Hospital, and Lancaster General Health.

“Hopefully, if this grows the way I think it has the potential to grow, I believe we can get a set of iPads into every hospital across the states,” she said.

They’re working with Apple to make it happen. Each iPad will have Julie’s name inscribed on the back.

“I keep quoting my brother here, but even at my mom’s funeral, he said, ‘people die twice. Once when they die and once when people stop talking about them.’ This is a way people will never stop talking about my mom. This is a way she will live on forever, and not just through our memories, but everybody will know her name. She will be the reason people communicate with their families. She will be the reason people get to communicate with their families in the hospital right now,” said Karen.

Until they can fulfill their mission, the family is encouraging other families to leave technology, and of course, chargers, with their loved ones in the hospital.

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