Samantha Schacher, host of "Daily Blast Live," described the tough situation her family has been in since her 51-year-old brother-in-law, Eric, was put into a medically induced coma after suffering complications from coronavirus as "cruel."
“I never thought that my family would go through this. …He is a surfer, a snowboarder, [has] strong lungs. And Covid is cruel,” she told CNN's Brianna Keilar.
Schacher, of Denver, Colorado, is advocating for her brother-in-law who is in need of a double lung transplant. She said doctors have said Eric's lungs are "no longer compatible with life." Schacher said she feels like she has the responsibility to do so since Eric and her sister advocate for others as health care workers: "Now it's my turn... to help advocate for him."
"Eric no longer has Covid. He cleared his Covid load because he's so strong way back in January, so these are all Covid complications. And now we're in a position where, we've run out of options. And we have a very healthy guy otherwise, who can't come home to his —my sister, his wife and their two babies, because of his lungs," she explained.
And on the one year anniversary of when the pandemic became official, Schacher has this message for people:
"I hope this is a cautionary tale because I know a lot of people are lowering their guard because we have spring break coming up, the vaccine is here, but we're not out of the woods. And I don't want another family to go through this, because it can happen to you. If you don't think it's going to happen to you, it can. Look at me, look at our story. You do not want to go through this. It is excruciating," she said.