1 - Introduction

Summary

On June 11, 2020, Michael Hickson died of complications of COVID-19. The father of five was forty-six years old. He had contracted the infection the previous month while in a nursing home, and he was transferred on June 2 to a hospital in Austin, Texas. A Black man, Michael Hickson had a career as an auto insurance claims estimator, a career cut short when he experienced sudden cardiac arrest at just forty-three years of age. Complications left him with quadriplegia, blindness, and brain injuries. Although he had difficulty speaking and remembering things, Michael Hickson continued to participate in his family’s life, joking with his children and talking with his wife about their lives.