Coronavirus Memoriam: Remembering Selfless Yoni Bradin And Pamela Orlando
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- CBS2 is continuing its series honoring victims of the coronavirus pandemic. Reporter Jessica Moore remembers two people in their prime of their lives, both taken too soon.
Yoni Bradin meant so much to so many people.
The young Israeli husband and father lived in Hauppauge with his wife, Jenn, who described him as her everything -- her rock, a loud, boisterous presence who lit up the room with little effort.
Yoni was an amazing cook, who loved to learn new things and especially enjoyed camping, hiking, and traveling with his family.
He always wanted to be a dad, and was never happier than when he was with his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, and 1-year-old son, Noah.
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Yoni knew every line to every Disney princess movie and would even build pretend castles for his own princess, Bella.
Just 36 years old, Yoni developed pneumonia at the end of February and never got better. By March 21, he was in the Intensive Care Unit, where he stayed until he passed on April 20.
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Pamela Orlando
Orlando, 56, was described as a selfless hero, and the hardest-working person in the Rockland County town of New City. The single mom worked 60 hours a week as an ER nurse at Valley Hospital to support her two boys: Reid and Ryan.
The boys described their mom as the strongest person they knew, who taught them to never give up, and said, "It's not how you start... it's how you finish."
Every Sunday was a holiday at Pam's house. She would spend her one day off cooking for her family and anyone in the neighborhood who needed a meal. She never asked for help, but was always the first to offer help to others.
When Pam got sick in March, she refused to go to the hospital because she didn't want to take a bed away from one of her COVID-19-positive patients. But by March 26 she didn't have a choice.
Pam spent three weeks in the hospital before passing away on April 16.
Bradin and Orlando were selfless heroes, whose legacies of strength and compassion will linger long after their deaths.
