LouNaeha Young’s voice trailed off. Her eyes tearing up as she took a moment and then continued with her story.

She was recalling the phone call she received from Elgin’s Advocate Sherman Hospital in which she was told her boyfriend, Solomon Deloach, father of her 3-year-old son, was being put on a ventilator. Deloach was an environmental services manager at the hospital who had been admitted days earlier with COVID-19.

His co-workers told her “he took his work seriously but saw his team as individuals and built connections with them,” she said.

A lifelong Milwaukee resident, Deloach was making the 90-minute commute to Elgin before he and Young moved to the northwest suburbs on July 20. He got sick four days later, she said.

Deloach had Type 2 diabetes, which is a risk factor for COVID-19.

He was “very, very hesitant to get the vaccine” for many reasons, Young said. Many in the Black community believe erroneously that the shots change your DNA or think the government is doing experiments on Americans, she said.

“There were many reasons we felt we shouldn’t get the vaccine because of what the community said,” even though their research showed it was safe, Young said. Their community said not to get the vaccination, and “we made a household decision we would not get the vaccination,” she said.

A high level of distrust about the vaccine continues to be seen within minority communities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Statistics show only 29.4% of Blacks and 35.4% of Hispanics were fully vaccinated as of September, CDC data shows.

Deloach had a change of heart while hospitalized, Young said. When a doctor asked him if he would get vaccinated, Deloach told him, ‘I’m getting one as soon as I get out of here,’ ” she said. The doctor was happy to hear he had changed his mind, and, “(Deloach responded) “ ‘Well, look where I am,’ ” Young said.

A few weeks after his death, Young received her first Pfizer shot at a Milwaukee hospital.

“I don’t want my son to be without any parents,” Young said of her decision. She wasn’t scared or nervous about it. “The scariest part of my life was Aug. 2 and that was losing him. I didn’t have anything else to be scared of,” she said.

She brought their son, Legend, with her to Sherman Wednesday while she received her second vaccine dose and talked about Deloach.

“(Legend) is the only reason I’m being strong,” Young said, as she watched the toddler play nearby. “When he’s not with me, I’m a wreck. I have to have him close to me every chance I get. I’m looking over at him every second. He’s OK so I’m OK. When he’s asleep or playing, I can cry.

“Our beautiful boy has to grow up without his best friend,” Young said.

Young started dating Deloach 10 years ago when they were high school students. She described him as a jokester, but he had a serious side as well, she said. “He loved everyone he met,” she said.

“He was my best friend. We talked every day for the last 10 years,” she said. “Every day I (still) talk to him. I have his (hospital) badge in my car, and I see his big smile on his face. I know he’s here. I know he’s proud.”

Her goal in sharing their story is to tell people, especially those with underlying medical issues, to talk to someone who’s had the vaccination, do their research and get vaccinated. “I want to help anybody and everybody I can,” Young said.

All Advocate Sherman Hospital employees are required to be vaccinated by Oct. 15.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.