It was a mixture of tears and laughter today in the Kentucky Capitol as Kentuckians told their stories about how they dealt with COVID 19.

Today's Day of Compassion came exactly four years after Kentucky's first COVID case.

One of my favorite Bible passages, powerful in both its brevity and clarity is Micah Chapter six, verse eight.

Which reminds us.

And what does the Lord require of you?

But to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with the Lord your God in a very real way.

I think.

And I believe that we live this simple mission statement here in Kentucky during the height of the pandemic.

As a statewide community, we strove to act justly to save lives.

We were kind to each other during difficult times, and we learned humility, as we acknowledged, at least for a time, that the pandemic was bigger than each of us alone, and that only by coming together would we overcome.

On September the fifth, 2020, my sister had died due to complications with COVID.

If losing my sister was not devastating enough for me and my family.

Four months later, COVID came for me in the worst kind of way.

On January eight, 2021, my wife found me nonresponsive in our home.

I was taken in an ambulance vehicle to the Clark County Regional Hospital in Winchester, where, due to my critical condition, the doctor made a decision to have me transported in an emergency MLS helicopter to the University of Kentucky Hospital Intensive Care unit.

When I regained consciousness a couple of days later, the first thing my doctor told me was that I look better than I did when they first got me and that I had no time to spare.

When I arrived at the University of Kentucky Hospital, those words were deafening.

Got my attention and I remembered them forever.

I looked forward to a 4:00 with A&E and Virginia and heard Don't be doing that and we'll get through this together, trying to teach us all a little bit.

But that and the idea I have a bourbon with Bashir t shirt so that that after hearing the bad news it was kind of nice to have a little sip of Kentucky bourbon.

Almost 20,000 Kentuckians have died of COVID.