FORT WORTH, Texas — The first round of COVID-19 patients have been treated at a newly opened monoclonal antibody infusion center in Fort Worth. They hope the treatment will help them win their battle against the deadly disease.
But the highly anticipated treatment center is bittersweet for members of the Fort Worth church site. That's because they just lost one of the church founders to COVID-19, who made it a point to make sure others were protected against the disease through testing and vaccination.
The infusion center is inside the Mt. Rose Baptist Church on Mississippi Avenue. The first patient underwent treatment Monday morning just after 9:30 a.m., whose entire family visited the church earlier this year to get tested for the virus thanks to volunteers.
For months you could see sister Wilma Cary volunteering at church to help feed the hungry. She's one of the founding members of Mt. Rose Baptist church in Fort Worth.
During the pandemic, the 75-year-old also volunteered at church helping people get tested and vaccinated against COVID-19.
Now, her church just opened a treatment center.
Kalisha McDowell became the first patient to undergo treatment at the infusion center after testing positive. She feared her children would get sick like her.
"I was having really bad headaches, really bad back pains. So, hopefully, this controls the symptoms," McDowell said.
"The monoclonal antibody infusion, it breaks up the virus," Pastor Kyev Tatum said.
Pastor Tatum is concerned about families without easy access to testing and vaccine sites. The infusion center is new to the 76104 zip code. There are already a limited number of treatments that will be available.
But the treatment itself is not new. Doctors administered an infusion to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after he tested positive.
Tatum strongly believes the infusion center can be duplicated in churches and other places of worship across Fort Worth and North Texas.
The second person to show up at Mt. Rose Baptist Church on Mississippi Avenue was William Lightner. He tested positive at another neighborhood church that directed him to the treatment center immediately.
After getting vaccinated earlier this year, Lightner contracted COVID-19. He's had people in his family diagnosed with the virus and, fortunately, everyone so far has survived.
But when it comes to some of his friends who are up in age, the virus claimed their lives.
"That's what lead me to continue to be tested and take the antibiotics," said Lightner.
Sadly enough, after deciding against the vaccine, Pastor Tatum shared that longtime church member and founder Cary lost her battle with COVID-19.
Mt. Rose members are preparing to celebrate her life this week at the church.
So, Pastor Tatum dedicates opening the infusion center to her memory.
Now, he not only continues to offer prayer to people in 76104, but also makes sure they have a better chance of beating COVID-19.
People who have tested positive for COVID-19 can call 469-573-0547 to schedule their infusion treatment at the church.