A 74-year-old Missouri man died from the coronavirus after a ‘week of immeasurable suffering’, his wife says.
Dennis Wilson of Lenexa first became ill March 12 and went three times to see doctors, says his wife Joanna, but on each visit, despite being sick, was told he did not have enough of the symptoms required to test for the flu like infection.
Dennis finally got so sick that he had to be rushed by ambulance to the AdventHealth Shawnee Mission campus in Overland Park, says Joanna, who was told she couldn’t see him because she too had go into quarantine.
Dennis died on Saturday as Joanna wrote ‘the fight is over’ in a heartbreaking post on Facebook about her husband’s passing which has gone viral, reports The Kansas City Star.
Dennis, a former biology teacher who served as superintendent at Lamar R-1 School District and was working as a professional magician, is survived by Joanna, their three children and six grandchildren.
Americans across the nation have complained of similar challenges in getting tested for the coronavirus.
There have been more than 43,000 confirmed cases in the US of the infection, also known as COVID-19, which has been blamed for 553 known deaths.
More than 43,000 people tested positive for coronavirus by Monday night, and more than 550 people known to have died from the infection
Missouri has had 183 confirmed cases and three known deaths from the virus, reports the state’s Health and Senior Services Department.
Dennis, who was one of the three persons to pass from the infection, was also the first person to die from COVID-19 in Johnson County, where he resided.
In the post, she recalls how events unfolded.
She said he had first gone to an urgent care clinic on March 12 after having flu-like symptoms. He had already been feeling sick for about a week, but was told to go home and drink plenty of fluids and rest.
However, the next night, Joanna writes, he went to another urgent care clinic. When he tested negative for influenza A and B, she says, Dennis was sent home again under similar advice.
Dennis briefly had more energy on March 15, but by the evening was complaining he was short of breath. When he became worse, Joanna took him to AdventHealth in Lenexa around midnight. A chest X-ray showed he was suffering bilateral pneumonia.
Even though a doctor suspected Dennis had COVID-19, Joanna says he still did not meet the conditions for testing.
By 4 a.m. the next day, Dennis had to be rushed by ambulance to the AdventHealth Shawnee Mission campus in Overland Park and Joanna was told to quarantine.
She posted an image of Dennis’ wallet after finding playing cards inside, calling it ‘a little levity in the midst of a serious situation’ regarding her husband, who, when he’s not a school superintendent, works as a magician.
Joanna posted an image of Dennis’ wallet after finding playing cards inside, calling it ‘a little levity in the midst of a serious situation’ regarding her husband, who, when he’s not a school superintendent, works as a magician.
‘Never in a million years would I ever have thought we would be in such a situation! Never!’ she wrote that night. When the test came back three hours later, she added, ‘Confirmed! Please keep us in your prayers. And pray hard. Please!’
She was eventually allowed to see her husband for five hours last Tuesday.
Joanna posted a picture of Dennis’ hand as she held it in the emergency room after she was allowed to visit him, despite being quarantined at home for two weeks
Joanna posted a picture of Dennis’ hand as she held it in the emergency room after she was allowed to visit him, despite being quarantined at home for two weeks
‘Dennis is still so very ill,’ she wrote on Facebook after the visit. ‘Covid-19 has a strong hold on his lungs and won’t let go! His pneumonia is extensive and debilitating and potentially very deadly! And as long as that’s the case then he will need life support. Please continue to pray for him!’
Then Saturday night, a heartbroken Joanna announced the sad news of Dennis’ passing.
After meeting with her children at the hospital to learn what had happened, Joanna returned home and said she realized that ‘it’s final.’
‘I walked into my home now knowing for sure he would never walk through the door again,’ she wrote. ‘And now I start another complete quarantine, and think what kind of funeral I can plan from home, knowing it might not take place for quite awhile and might be a lot less than I think he deserves. More travesty!
‘And then, I have the task of completely ridding our home and belongings of Covid-19, something I’m not quite sure I know how to do or have the energy for. I cannot go anywhere or have visitors in so I’m now finding myself in the grips of great sorrow and grief completely alone. Where do I begin?’