Conservative Talk Radio Host Is Critical With COVID-19

This happens to be a dateline Nashville, Tennessee story; but, examples just like this are playing out all over the country.

It’s tragic and inconceivable to me that we still have such surging COVID-19 numbers when we have a life-saving vaccine readily available that can almost always prevent the disease.

With some of you … I know that I am “working” on your last nerve. But, I will not apologize for my approach regarding COVID-19.

I don’t want you or those you love to get sick and possibly die.

This is the story of Phil Valentine. He is not a household name in New Jersey. He’s a Tennessee based Conservative Radio Talk Show Host.

Until two weeks ago, his family says that he was “healthy as a horse.”

Now, the radio host from WTN-FM in Nashville remains in critical condition, after more than 2 weeks in the hospital, battling COVID-19.

His Brother Mark told The Tennessean newspaper that “he’s regretful,” for doubting vaccines.

Mark Valentine reports that his brother has had remdesivir injections and that he has been placed in a prone position (flipped on his stomach) so the fluid can’t settle in one spot in his lungs. Doctors suggested another last ditch effort.

”They told him to sing. He was singing in the critical care unit at the top of his lungs. He sang my way, the song Frank Sinatra made famous and includes the lines, and now, the end is near… And regrets, I’ve had a few…“

They were hoping that the singing would clear his lungs. Thus far, it has not. Phil Valentine is not showing an accident any signs of improvement, or any decline for the past few days. He’s getting oxygen treatments, but he has not been placed on a ventilator. “He is positive, and he is scared. He knows that he is very, very sick,” said Mark Valentine.

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As recently as June 24, 2021, Phil Valentine wrote on his Facebook page: “common sense told us that if you weren’t at risk for Covid you shouldn’t get the vaccine.“

His brother said that if he (Phil) ever gets a chance to do his radio show again, his message will be different. “When he gets the opportunity to tell the world, his message will be, get the vaccine,” Mark Valentine said.

When his brother (Phil) got so sick from COVID-19, Mark Valentine dropped his own opposition and was vaccinated.

“I immediately got it,” Mark Valentine said. “There was a shift for me.“

Their older brother Steve, however, has still not been vaccinated.

"He's in the decision-making process," Mark Valentine said.

Phil Valentine’s wife, Susan has been at his side at the hospital for 14-hour shifts, wearing full protective gear.

The Valentine family is still on edge.

"We have not breathed a sigh of relief," Mark Valentine said. "He has not turned the corner."

“Phil Valentine is alert and he's getting reports from his wife about all the well-wishes and prayer being posted on social media.”

"It touches his heart when he hears about the outpouring of support," his brother Mark said.

Phil and Susan Valentine have three sons – Carr, 28, Campbell, 26, and Douglas, 22, Mark Valentine said.

There remains a persistent 1/3 of our population that refuses to get vaccinated.

I’ve been saying all along that it is regretful how COVID-19 has been viewed through a political lens.

Mark Valentine said he wishes the vaccine process wouldn't have been politicized.

"If Trump would have been elected, the Biden people wouldn't have gotten the vaccine," he said. "The information has been all over the place."

New cases of COVID-19 have risen by 170 percent over the past two weeks.

99 percent of all new cases involve the unvaccinated. It doesn’t need to be this way.

A number of hospitals around the country are completely maxed out, with the more infectious Delta variant accounting for more than 80 percent of all new cases.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has confirmed that regarding the 32,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations in New Jersey since January, 2021… 99% of them have been the unvaccinated.

it really is time for a wake up call. We must come together.

Every day, I search for answers as to how we can positively and effectively coach the unvaccinated to take a fresh, new look at the current situation.

Let’s stop being political and instead support one another as Americans.

COVID-19 doesn’t care if you’re a Republican or Democrat. It’s an equal opportunity destroyer.

NOTE: Here’s a link to another comprehensive piece about Phil Valentine from News 4 Nashville

SOURCE: The Nashville Tennessean - Keith Sharon.