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Hopes of new vaccines, treatment excite local affected by COVID-19

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Faith is something 19-year-old Courtney Leal has held on to during this pandemic while her father has been recovering at the Palms Nursing Home.

The recent news of vaccines and antibody therapies excites Courtney.

It gives her hope that, one day soon, she'll be able to see her dad in person and tell him the one thing she's been wanting to tell him: that she loves him.

Her father suffered a stroke several months ago and was left partially paralyzed.

Juan Jose Leal, also known as Johnny, was given about six months to live.

“Now that he is here, it breaks my heart that we're not able to see him because of the whole pandemic and stuff like that,”she said.

Courtney is the youngest daughter of three girls -- her two older sisters live in Houston. She said the last time she saw her father was through a window at the nursing home more than a month ago.

“It breaks my heart a lot, not being able to hug him or hold his hand," she said. "Really, it's hard to communicate through a window."