The COVID-19 pandemic has been rough on the economy, school, and social life, and has changed the lives of many in our community, but Wednesday morning one of the most affected segments of the population enjoyed a brief break and celebrated the refreshing view of a parade.
A Del Rio Fire Department fire truck and privately owned vehicles drove by the Del Rio Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, on West Martin Street, waving at and saluting nursing home residents.
The residents, lined up on the sidewalk outside the nursing home, waved back and enjoyed the improvised and colorful display brought to them by friends, family members and members of the community.
Wendy Pandilla, a San Antonio resident whose mother-in-law Angela Padilla is a resident at the facility, said they came from San Antonio and drove by West Martin Street to celebrate life and their loved ones.
“It’s been a rough time for them, they haven’t seen their loved ones in a while, this is a great way to celebrate our seniors,” Padilla said.
Some of the vehicles were decorated with love and encouragement hand-painted signs, and messages such as “Love-u-Mom” and “We Miss You” were shown repeatedly as the long caravan of vehicles paraded in front of the nursing home.
Some of the nursing home residents greeted the parade with their own creative signs, with one of theme reading “Need More Beer!”
Nursing homes were among the first facilities to enter into a lock down in Texas, following the local disaster declaration issued by the Lone Star state due the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Senior citizens and people with underlying health conditions have been particularly affected by COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
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