Ohio dad who went to D.C. to work on coronavirus front lines now on ventilator

https://news.yahoo.com/ohio-dad-went-d-c-225049789.html

Janelle Griffith
,NBC News•May 13, 2020


An Ohio father who went to Washington, D.C., to work as a nurse treating coronavirus patients is now on a ventilator and battling the disease himself.

The man, Michael Rhodes, traveled from Columbus on April 7 after the closure of nonessential businesses left him jobless, according to his fiancée, Amber Wachenschwanz, who has been documenting his condition on Facebook.

The man, Michael Rhodes, traveled from Columbus on April 7 after the closure of nonessential businesses left him jobless, according to his fiancée, Amber Wachenschwanz, who has been documenting his condition on Facebook.

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Rhodes owns Ion Fire Protection, which employs a handful of people who clean commercial kitchen hoods, Wachenschwanz said.

"When the governor shut down Ohio restaurants, those restaurants cut services like kitchen hood cleaning," she said.

Rhodes stopped taking a salary from his business so he could pay his staff, which left a hole in the household income. So he decided to work elsewhere as a nurse.

"He knew these hard-hit areas of the pandemic needed help and he could help," Wachenschwanz said.

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A GoFundMe campaign launched by Rhodes' best friend, Chad Lusher, has raised more than $22,000 toward a goal of $50,000. Lusher described Rhodes as someone who always puts the needs of others above his own.

"What we wanted to get out there was his story," Wachenschwanz said. "How somebody goes away from their family, fighting hard to help people. Now he's sick and far away from home."