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Bill Olwig († 85) and Patricia Olwig († 83) have spent almost their entire lives together. As a young couple, the two Americans from the state of Missouri gave their yes in 1959. The couple was married for almost 61 years when Bill died of the coronavirus on May 1. Only about 40 minutes later, his beloved Patricia, as the newspaper “St. Louis Post-Dispatch» reports.
The tragedy began sometime in late March or early April, when exactly it is not clear. They both complained of a cough. “We were concerned, but we thought that maybe it’s just a common cold,” her daughter Rose told the newspaper. His father prescribed antibiotics for the first time to his doctor.
But then the couple’s condition worsened. The Olwigs complained of high fever, they lost their energy. On April 26, Bill’s condition became so severe that an ambulance brought him to the hospital with flashing lights. Patricia is picked up just six hours later. “One of my brothers followed the ambulance with Patricia and saw her get out of the ambulance,” says her daughter Rose. “She greeted calmly and said, ‘Hi, I’m getting tested.'”
Video chat with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
However, a day later, both Bill and Patricia were in the intensive care unit and had to be artificially ventilated. They had tested positive for Covid-19 the night before. “We knew then that it would probably be the end,” Rose said. Her parents had had medical problems for years and were therefore part of the corona risk group.
Since the family was unable to visit their beloved parents and grandparents in the hospital due to the pandemic, they organized a video chat. A Catholic priest went to Bill and Patricia’s deathbed with protective gear to perform the religious anointing. The children, 20 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren viewed through the zoom chat.
The doctor had tears in his eyes.
A few days later, on May 1, the bad news followed. A doctor approached the children in the parking lot in front of the hospital, where the family had set up tents. With tears in his eyes, he informed them that Bill was dead. Just 40 minutes later, his wife Patricia had also succumbed to the corona virus.
Son Pat hopes his parents’ story is a lesson to critics of the crown. His message: every family can be affected by this virus. It is devastating. I know that my father and mother are only a small part of this. But it shows what impact Corona can have on a single family. ” (neem)
