My name is Jorden, and I work in the health equity office at the North Dakota Department of Health. In my role, I hear stories every day about families losing loved ones to COVID-19. Today, I find myself as one of those stories, having lost not one, but both parents to COVID-19. My parents, who were together since the age of fourteen, died only days apart. They were alone, they were scared, and they too thought that they could beat this disease. They were our parents. They were our friends. But most importantly, they were our heroes. I encourage you to get the COVID-19 vaccine. I don’t want to see anyone else go through what my parents did, or feel the same way my brother and I do.