Nick Cordero’s heartbroken wife Amanda Kloots has shared a video capturing how her family supported her over the last 95 days as he fought for his life in the hospital.
The beloved Broadway star, 41, who starred in works including Rock of Ages, and Waitress, died on Sunday in Los Angeles after spending more than 90 days fighting COVID-19 related complications.
Kloots announced his tragic passing on Instagram. Together they share a one-year-old son named Elvis.
On Monday the theater actress and fitness trainer opened up on the devastating loss saying, ‘How do you get through the hardest time in your life? Family.’
‘I woke up to this video my sister made for me. She titled it, The Silver Linings. I have always been lucky to have a family that loves to be together and to support each other.
Amanda Kloots has shared a video capturing how her family supported her over the last 95 days as her husband Nick Cordero fought for his life in the hospital. Cordero, 41, tragically passed away on Sunday from COVID-19 related complications
On Monday the theater actress and fitness trainer opened up on the devastating loss saying, ‘How do you get through the hardest time in your life? Family’
She shared a 10 minute video showing small moments filmed from Apil 20 to June 28 showing how her family supported her. Kloots pictured laying in a bed in what appears to be a hospital in the video compilation
Cordero is survived by his wife, Amanda (left) and their son one-year-old son, Elvis
‘I’m even luckier to have Nicks family and extended family that are the same. This video captures these last 95 days,’ she added.
The video compilation captures snippets of each day from April 20 to June 28 showing Kloots’ siblings, baby Elvis playing, workouts, dinners at the table, laughter and spontaneous dancing – all glimpses of how her family supported her through the difficult journey.
In one clip Kloots is seen lying on a bed at a hospital visiting Cordero.
‘They did all of this for Nick, Elvis and I- selfless time from their lives to be with us. In times of trauma, look for the silver linings. Spend time with family. Smile through the tears. Have faith when things seem impossible. Love one another,’ she shared.
Kloots revealed on Instagram that at 3pm PST (6pm EST) she’ll host a sing-a-long in his honor.
Every day that Cordero was in the hospital Kloots hosted a sing and dance challenge on Instagram encouraging followers to join in using the hashtag #offthevent, encouraging Cordero to make it off a ventilator in the hospital and recover.
Baby Elvis was the star of the video where he was cared for by his mom and relatives
Kloots pictured (top) with her sister (left) and brother (bottom) posing with face masks
Family first: The clip included these sweet snaps of Kloots with her sister and parents
Cordero was first admitted to Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital in late March after initially being diagnosed with pneumonia.
Kloots revealed on March 31 that her husband was in intensive care and was having a ‘hard time breathing’. Days later, doctors confirmed Cordero was suffering from coronavirus after being tested three times, testing negative on the first two occasions.
Kloots was unable to be at Cordero’s side in the hospital at the time, due to coronavirus safety guidelines and visitor restrictions at the hospital.
Initially, Cordero’s symptoms were intermittent. In an interview with Buzzfeed at the time, Kloots said the Broadway star ‘could not get out of bed, so tired, no energy, that was really his only symptom.’
But his condition soon took a drastic turn for the worse, and shortly after being admitted to the hospital, Cordero was placed on a ventilator by doctors.
‘He said, “I love you, they have decided to put me on a ventilator with a breathing tube and I’m gonna go unconscious and I don’t know when I’ll wake up, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to talk to you again,’ Kloots told the outlet.
Kloots revealed her sister created the video for her as a reminder of the silver linings in all hardships and an assurance that her family will always be there to support her
Kloots pictured kissing baby Elvis in the compilation video
Though his health initially stabilized, by April 10 Kloots saying he was ‘fighting for his life’.
In the hours that followed, Kloots was told Cordero needed to immediately undergo emergency surgery after the ventilator he was placed on to support his heart and lungs was found to be obstructing blood flow to his right leg.
Cordero made it out of the surgery alive, however Kloots said at the time that he was ‘struggling’ and remained in a medically induced coma.
The following week, the star had to have his right leg amputated on April 18 after suffering from blood clots.
On April 24, Kloots shared that Cordero has tested negative for COVID-19, but within hours doctors were forced to install a temporary pacemaker after he began experiencing irregular heartbeats.
The father-of-one then contracted a lung infection that spread into his bloodstream, causing septic shock, Kloots said.
Nick Cordero tragically passed away on Sunday after spending more than 90 days in hospital fighting for his life due to COVID-19 related complications
Cordero’s death was announced by his wife Amanda Kloots in a heartbreaking post on Instagram
She was later told that her husband’s lungs had been so severely damaged by the virus that it was ‘almost like he’s been a smoker for 50 years’.
‘They’re that damaged,’ Kloots said of her husband’s lungs on April 30. ‘There are holes in his lungs where obviously you don’t want holes to be.’
Cordero then underwent a tracheotomy procedure and, two weeks later, he awoke from his medically induced coma on May 12.
He was said to be ‘extremely weak, so weak that he can’t close his mouth.’ However, Kloots says he was responding to instructions which suggested his ‘mental status is coming back’.
But Cordero continued to suffer various issues in his lungs. Despite doctors ‘cleaning out’ his lungs daily, Kloots said her husband was ‘not getting better’.
While admitted at hospital, Nick also endured numerous other complications, including two small strokes.
In June, Kloots was finally able to visit Cordero in hospital for the first time nearly 80 days after he was first admitted.
Before Cordero got sick in March, the couple had recently moved from New York to Los Angeles so the Broadway actor could star in Rock of Ages Hollywood (pictured: Nick Cordero and the cast ‘Bullets Over Broadway’ perform onstage during the 68th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 8, 2014)
‘He can’t talk because of the ventilator and he can’t move because he’s so weak,’ Kloots said in an Instagram post, sharing a photograph of her holding his hand. ‘But he’s awake and he’s in there. He can answer questions with yes or no with his eyes.’
Kloots also revealed that Cordero had lost 65 lbs during his battle with COVID-19, after his muscles began to atrophy due to a lack of movement. Cordero’s temporary pacemaker was then removed on July 2.
In a series of updates shared to Instagram this week, Amanda said that her husband was ‘doing slightly better’ after coming down from his blood pressure medication on Thursday.
Heartbroken: Celebrities, such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, have taken to social media to honor the 41-year-old Broadway star and to send condolences to his wife Amanda Kloots, 38, and their son Elvis, one
A light: Sara Bareilles publicly grieved the loss of Nick on her Instagram page and described the late actor as ‘a light’ she was lucky to know
Unimaginable: Actress Viola Davis penned a touching tribute to Cordero and remarked on the actor’s unimaginable battle on her Twitter page, as well
Terrible: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom deemed the news of Nick’s passing as ‘terrible’ and voiced her frustration with the virus, as a whole
Fought hard: ‘Rest in Power Nick Cordero. Such sad news. U fought so hard and are so loved. Prayers to your family and friends,’ wrote acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren on Twitter
One Of Us: Actor Donald Webber Jr. began his tribute by labeling the Bullets Over Broadway star as ‘one of us’ and that his passing is something that is ‘really hard to understand’
Look out for them: Cordero’s dear friend and actor Zach Braff posted a heartbreaking tribute on Instagram that revealed that Cordero had asked him prior to his death ‘to look out for his wife and one year old son’
Emotional: ‘Nick Cordero passed at 11:40am today with his wife and mother by his side. I have honestly never known a kinder person. But Covid doesn’t care about the purity of your soul, or the goodness in your heart,’ began the 45-year-old Scrubs star in his post
So sad: Ariana Grande reposted her brother Frankie’s tribute to her Instagram Story
A GoFundMe set up in April by Amanda’s friends has already reached $593,573 to help with medical costs which at the time ‘had already started coming in’ according to the description on the fundraising page.
She had also also revealed this week that she planned to refinance the couple’s LA home to pay for medical bills.
Before Cordero got sick in March, the couple, who married in 2017, had recently moved from New York to Los Angeles so the Broadway actor could star in Rock of Ages Hollywood.
In the hours following the news of his death, tributes from fellow Broadway stars and other celebrities began pouring in on social media.
‘Devastating. What a loss, what a light. Whole heart with Amanda and his family tonight,’ Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote on Twitter.
Actress Viola Davis penned a touching tribute to Cordero and remarked on the actor’s unimaginable battle on her Twitter page, as well.
‘RIP Nick Cordero! My condolences to you Amanda who fought and loved so hard….so sorry for his little one.
‘My heart is with you. May flights of angels,’ concluded the 54-year-old The Help star.
Cordero played the role of Earl in the original production of Sara Bareilles’ hit Broadway musical Waitress in 2016.
And Bareilles publicly grieved the loss of Nick on her Instagram page and described the late actor as ‘a light’ she was lucky to know.
‘He was light. Kind and gentle. Talented and humble. Funny and friendly. The best laugh. Sending so much love to the love warrior @amandakloots and little Elvis, and an immense hug to any one who is feeling the loss of this giant heart. Rest In Peace dear Nick. We love you,’ she captioned.