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Rockford man painfully awaiting surgery delayed by lack of hospital bed space

CHRIS LARAWAY.jpg
Posted at 5:17 PM, Dec 27, 2021
and last updated 2021-12-27 18:12:03-05

ROCKFORD, Mich. — Christopher Laraway needs surgery to get out of pain.

The spinal surgery he needs to feel better comes with a two-night hospital stay.

“Because of the COVID patients, there’s no room,” Laraway said.

An epidural about a month ago helped get him back on his feet, but the effects are wearing off.

“I was on the floor, I was on the couch, I was in bed for three days. I’ve lost 17 pounds before the epidural,” Laraway said.

He's getting by with painkillers until his February 1st appointment for surgery. But he's not getting his hopes up.

“I don’t even know if I’ll be able to get to surgery on February 1st,” Laraway said.

Laraway says it's frustrating for him, knowing people who are willfully unvaccinated are taking up hospital beds for people like him.

“Those that aren’t vaccinated, they wouldn’t be there if they were vaccinated,” Laraway said.

Nearly 90% of all COVID-19 patients in a hospital bed at Spectrum Health are not vaccinated.