Emergency Rooms (ER) kept sending the 56-year-old Gary Fowler away when his stepson took him to different hospitals three times for testing coronavirus. "He was begging for his life, but no one would help him at all. Like they just kept sending him away," said stepson Keith Gambrell.
Keith was concerned if his step-father had coronavirus as he was having many symptoms and was not admitted and tested once. According to CBS, Keith believes that ERs did not take his step-father's symptoms seriously to give him a test because he was black.
Keith's father David died of coronavirus a day before his stepfather Gary Fowler died. Soon after, Gary's wife, Cheryl also began to develop symptoms and was admitted to the hospital. Keith called his cousin Karen Whitsett, State Representative for the support as he was concerned about other family members could also be infected.
Michigan formed a task force to investigate the racial disparity
Whitsett does not think that her family members would not have been tested if she was not state lawmaker. "That sickens me to have to use that title to be able to have to get my family tested," she said. Keith informed that he and his two brothers Troy and Ross also have been tested positive of COVID-19 disease. He is concerned about his mother as she was released from hospital and readmitted on April 21 that was her 25 wedding anniversary.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Esther Whitmer formed a task force on Monday to investigate racial disparities happening during the pandemic. "There might be medical biases present when it comes to pick who will even get a test and how the treatment is practised by health workers, said chair of the task force," Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist.
Keith who has mild symptoms said that someone has to stand for people who can't avail medical attention and it is his duty to do that now. Michigan is seventh most affected region by coronavirus after Illinois in the United States with the total number of cases confirmed around 34,000 and 2,813 fatalities till now.
