My husband Tim passed away from COVID on July 8. In March both our companies had their employees start working from home. Both Tim and I were happy to be working from home and rarely went out to ensure we stayed safe, as well as Tim’s older brother who lived with us. Unfortunately at the end of May Tim’s company made them come back to the office and while they supplied masks and hand sanitizer, wearing the masks and social distancing was not enforced.

Towards the end of June Tim got a text message from a co-worker who he ate lunch with every day. The text told Tim that she had tested positive for COVID. Four days later Tim got sick. He went to the ER four days after he first became symptomatic and they told him he had a touch of pneumonia and sent him home with antibiotics.

For the next few days he stayed the same, still had some trouble breathing and his temperature would go up and down but he didn’t get worse. Until July 3 when his breathing became much worse and he was so weak. I took him back to the ER and they told me to go home since he would likely be admitted and they didn’t want extra people at the hospital. They took him back into the ER and that’s the last time I saw him alive.

During the 5 days he was in ICU he was sedated and on a ventilator the entire time. And because of COVID I couldn’t go see him, and while there are stories of hospitals that would allow family to face time with their loved ones, this was not one of the hospitals. I had to ask several times and beg to have someone hold the phone to his ear so I could talk to him. I finally got to talk to him hours before he died.

Three days after Tim died I came down with COVID. Fortunately I did not get it as bad and never had to go to the ER, but after just losing my husband to this I was terrified the whole time I was sick.

Tim was fun-loving and had such a good heart, he was my best friend, my soul mate, the love of my life, and it’s so hard to believe he is gone. I miss him more than words can say.