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Unfortunately, I lost my healthy and fit 78-year-old father to COVID-19 on September 5. My dad, Harry Maddox, was a lifelong traveler and flyer and inspired in me a love for travel and adventure. I share this interview I did with him in August 2020 where I asked him to share his best travel tips and his favorite things he's done while traveling, including swimming with sharks, metal detecting, scuba diving and more. I hope he inspires you as much as he did me! 17-minute mark is where he begins talking about his adventures. Here is a link to the video version if you'd prefer to watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Hj2tivpTg
I also want to share with you the full contents of an email I sent to my subscriber list after his death that includes a link to the video version of the interview...
I write to you all this week with great sadness.
In June, I lost my mother to dementia, which was somewhat expected though still very sad, and this past Sunday, I lost my vibrant, healthy, full-of-life 78-year-old dad completely unexpectedly to COVID.
I have a history of travel in my family, as my mother was a Delta flight attendant back in the glamorous age of flying in the 1970s (called "stewardesses" then!), and my dad has been flying since the time I was born, as a manufacturer's representative for sportswear and many related industries over the years, though the two have been divorced since I was 3.
My dad, a lifelong resident of Atlanta, which is the home base of Delta, flew so often that he was even grandfathered in as a "Delta Flying Colonel."
He inspired in me a love of adventure, of trying new things, of believing in myself, of dreaming big and of always striving to keep a positive attitude.
He was my inspiration, a fellow longtime entrepreneur and the person to whom I went for advice on all things.
He was my debate partner and also my cheerleader, compatriot and the best Granddad one could ask for to my 2 boys.
And he loved me unconditionally exactly for who I am - flaws and all!
This man was a cyclist, a scuba diver, a "treasure hunter"/metal detector (finding 1 of 14 Saxon sceat coins ever!), a hunter, he rafted down the Zambezi River in Africa, swam with sharks and so much more; he was never afraid to do or try anything. As he says in the video below, "Everything for me is an adventure."
Until the time he got sick with COVID just 3 weeks ago, this 78-year-old man was going to spinning class multiple times a week and beating the pants off the younger people beside him. And he worked full-time running his own business until then, as well.
Last August, when visiting him in Atlanta, I recorded this interview between he and I, sharing his best tips for and favorite memories of travel, which I shared within my Families Fly Free membership. But today I want to share it with everyone as a tribute to this great man.
Here is my joyful, loving dad and I in our chat just one year ago...
VIDEO VERSION
One last thing... please consider getting a vaccine if you have not or are not already immune.
My dad chose not to get the vaccine because he was certain his immune system was strong enough to keep him from getting the virus. And he DID have a healthy immune system, rarely ever getting sick, super active and taking vitamins and supplements. If anyone could have fought it off, he could have. And he DIDN'T get the virus for over a year until he did.
He was struggling to breathe within only 3 days of testing positive (we're not sure where he got it), in the hospital 2 days later, on a ventilator 1 day later and never came off of it. It's a testament to the health of his heart and lungs that he survived almost 2 weeks on the ventilator. He had every possible treatment, including Ivermectin, that you can get for COVID, and nothing could stop this awful virus from completely destroying his healthy body.
You just don't know if COVID will affect you like it did him. It's a gamble. I have looked COVID in the eye and I can tell you this is nothing that anyone -- vaccinated or unvaccinated -- wants. From the bottom of my heart, I don't want to see any other individual OR their family have to go through what we are right now.
If you choose not to get the vaccine, please protect yourself in every way you can.
And if you DO get the virus, I want you to know that you can get the FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies right away (many hospitals and locations around the country offer it on an outpatient basis), that you should keep a close eye on your oxygen levels and go to the hospital the SECOND you begin struggling to breathe, because you need to try to stop any damage to your lungs ASAP. This virus also directly attacks your kidneys, which I did not realize. We were just too late on all of this for my dad, but now we know, and I want you to know, too in the hopes it can save some lives.
God bless you all and please stay healthy and safe. Hug your family today!
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