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'She healed my heart': Friend puts on concert for COVID-19 patient on front lawn

Posted at 7:50 AM, Apr 14, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-15 11:39:14-04

SHOREWOOD -- It's a concert in Shorewood, for one.

The woman you see wearing a mask and listening on, tested positive for COVID-19.

Coronavirus has ravaged so many aspects of our daily life. Yet on many nights in Shorewood, you can catch this incredible moment.

It is one friend reaching out to another, not by touch, but through music notes.

As soon as Julie Roubik heard her friend, 70-year-old Elly M. Pick was fighting the coronavirus, Julie grabbed her viola and told Elly she would be out on her front lawn.

Elly told us, "Oh, I was so full of joy and peace and gratitude. It was so beautiful, because while the medical staff can take care of my physical, it was really Julie who took care of my heart."

"She needed a pick-me-up and I had the ability to do that so I said why not?" said Julie Roubik, violist, "It's what I have to give."

Elly says she has been fighting other health issues.

"I’ve had chronic lymphocytic leukemia for the past nine years, so my immune system is very weak," she said.

She says on March 16, she received awful news from the health department: She had been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 while at a fundraiser in Shorewood.

Just days later, Elly says she started to not feel well. This includes fever, fatigue, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea.

"I was tested on March 21, but I didn’t get back the results until April 4, so 15 days."

In between that time span, Elly was hospitalized for COVID-19 complications. While she's thankful she did not need to go on a ventilator, she describes the night she was in the fight of her life.

"I really thought I was going to leave earth," she said. "I sobbed the next morning not out of fear, but just gratitude that I made it through the night."

Most of Elly's recovery has been at home, with the help of many people and special gestures, including Julie's performances.

Elly's doctors say she is now immune to coronavirus, but she wants to set a good example to others by wearing a mask in public.

She believes her friend Julie may be setting the greatest example of all.

"Like Mr. Rogers said, ‘When there’s a problem - when there’s danger, look for the helpers, and Julie is a helper."

"At the end of the day, knowing I made a difference is like the best currency," said Julie.

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