Since the beginning of the year, we've heard countless stories about coronavirus. Two sisters from North Carolina spent their time in quarantine writing a book of stories about the survivors they say you rarely see on the news.
Renee Stegall and Rhonda Aycock spoke to NBC 6 Anchor Sheli Muñiz Monday about their book titled "COVID-19 Miracle Survivors: Fascinating Untold Stories."
SHELI: What made you want to write this book?
AYCOCK: Well, we were on stay-at-home orders under our governor and we had a lot of spare time. Renee called me and said there was so much negative stuff out there about COVID-19, but we know there have to be survivors who have positive and encouraging stories. So, that was the goal when we started writing it was to provide encouragement, information and hope.
SHELI: What was one of the stories that struck you the most?
STEGALL: That’s a tough question because everyone is so different and powerful its own merit. One that really stuck out with me is Renee Baker. She was a Lyft driver in the New York area. She got a ping on her phone and she went to the hospital to pick an ER doctor who was just finishing up his third 12-hour shift and she was driving him home and it was about a 30 minute drive. She said he looked exhausted and she didn’t want him to feel like he had to carry on a conversation, but he was so friendly. She said the things that he shared with her on that 30-minute drive home was what saved her life about six days later when she came down with Covid. So, she went to thank him and looked him up on the internet to find out how to contact him only to find out he came down with symptoms the very night she drove him from his last shift, and he passed away four days later.
SHELI: We thank you so much for sharing these stories because we want to hear those stories from those first responders and the stories of hope that you share. You’re also giving back.
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STEGALL: We have two causes: World Central Kitchen and Joe Gannascoli (Vito from "The Sopranos"), who is providing meals to first responders.
"COVID-19 Miracle Survivors: Fascinating Untold Stories" is available on Amazon. Net proceeds from book sales go to World Central Kitchen, Joe Gannascoli's project and other charitable organizations.
