Coronavirus stockpiling leaves family without medication

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - A Tucson mother is speaking out after her family felt the effects of COVID-19.

Not from the illness itself, but from those panicking and buying things in bulk.

Jennifer Deyoe's 11-year-old daughter Mary Lou already requires a lot of medicine to stay healthy.

“She’s a very severe asthmatic and very susceptible anything that she gets, cold flu goes straight to her chest.”

Mary Lou recently came down with the flu, and when her fever spiked to over 103 degrees, Deyoe needed the one thing she was missing.

"We realized we needed to start Tylenol and Motrin per her pediatrician, but I didn’t have any Motrin," said Deyoe.

Naturally she left for the store, expecting it to be a quick trip. First, she tried Walmart.

“I was faced with empty shelves. There was no children’s ibuprofen or children Motrin at all and I was shocked.”

So she tried again at Fry's.

"And again, they had nothing.”

Deyoe took to Twitter to express her frustration.

And normally a trip to the store for children’s Motrin is no problem...except thanks to you all the shelves are bare. So our daughter with her 103 fever suffered her body aches with cool baths and ice packs. This selfish greedy and unreasonable hoarding needs to stop.
— Jennifer Deyoe (@DeyoeJennifer) March 9, 2020

It ended up taking 48 hours for Deyoe to get her hands on the medicine due to people hoarding over COVID-19 fears.

“I think it’s selfish," said Deyoe. "Until we could get it, it was very cool baths and ice packs to help keep her comfortable and bring her fever down. She managed to weather it and the fever broke after 3 or four days.”

It was a frustrating thought knowing someone had it just sitting in their house.

“I was very frustrated and very angry and upset at people who are unreasonably hoarding these items and their taking them from people who really need them like us. Our daughter needed ibuprofen and because of a panic-stricken mob mentality, I was unable to keep her comfortable.”

Thankfully Mary Lou is now on the mend, but Jennifer wants their situation to be a reminder to stop and think before stockpiling.

"Please think before you buy that extra 1, 2, 3 bottles that you need, the extra case of toilet paper. Whatever it is please think. And realize that there are people who need it, family members who do need it immediately.”

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