My name is Vivi Nieto and my father's name is Sandalio Cardenas. He has been at Jackson Memorial Hospital for three months and visitation was from 9 AM - 11AM and 5 PM- 7 PM (only one person allowed up in the room) They have now changed the evening visitation from 6 PM - 9 PM. 

Family is healing. Imagine being in a hospital room with a nurse who is caring for you but you are not being spoken to for the majority of the day/night? You do not have your family there letting you know that they are there for you, you are safe, we are praying over you and most importantly that they are loved. 

What does not make sense to me is how people who work in the hospitals are OUT LIVING THEIR LIVES. Miami is completely open. Festivals are happening, people are going out to eat, clubs are open - people are traveling to Disney. 

However, people who work at the hospital are allowed to come back to work to take care of OUR loved ones? Who does the hospital think they are protecting? They want to protect their patients from their own families? If anything, we can be a huge asset to the care team. We are an extra set of eyes for them when they get extremely busy. Most importantly, we are there for healing and support for our loved one who is sick and needs us most right now. 

I have adored most of the nurses and doctor's that have taken care of my father- they work hard, are compassionate and go above and beyond. We appreciate them beyond measure. They should and must be celebrated. I wrote Jackson an email with specific names in hopes that they would sing their praises. 

I shared a Facebook live when I was kicked out of his room by the charge nurse (she was not mean about it). It was emotional and I did this in real time talking about these restrictions and how this cannot be justified. It was shared a lot and Jackson health reached out to me on social media to let me know my video was viewed by them. I wrote an email and have not received anything back. I reached out via Instagram this morning and they told me they would let administration know. After being courageous and vulnerable in this video, I had so many people private message me about the same situation. People who lost their loved ones and to make matters worse- DIED ALONE. Where has humanity gone?

I spoke to a friend that works at Baptist hospital and she told me visitation is 9 AM- 9 PM and people are even staying overnight. 

I have spoken to a few nurses and they cannot understand why this is happening. One mentioned that they feel like their patients are becoming sicker without family support. I want to know why the care teams aren't advocating for their patients? Standing up for the families? We are part of the healing process, we are a CRUCIAL part of the care team. 

I am going to keep fighting to see my father and be there for him. This isn't just for my family, I am doing this for all the private messages I received and being a voice for them. 

Love, 

Vivi