- Coronavirus deaths continue to mount as the COVID-19 pandemic is out of control in various countries, namely the US.
- A 79-year-old man in Texas died of COVID-19 complications in late July, prompting his wife to write an inspiring obituary that went viral on social media.
- She blamed politicians, including Trump, for the way they handled the pandemic but also said that anti-maskers are responsible for the spread of the virus.
More than 6.15 million people had been infected with the novel coronavirus at the time of this writing, and nearly 11.7 million have recovered. But more than 701,000 people have died of COVID-19 complications so far, with US deaths totaling 159,000. The good news is that fewer people are dying after going on mechanical ventilation than in the first few months of the pandemic, as doctors have devised better treatment protocols and trained themselves to assist critical patients better than before. But as the virus continues to spread at alarming rates, more and more people are infected. A percentage of those will continue to die, and things could worsen as some hospital systems become overwhelmed. The transmission rates would go down again if everyone respected the guidelines meant to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. But anti-maskers and people who refuse to social distancing are a driving factor in the spread of this potentially deadly virus. Their disregard for the rules might get them infected, and they also risk infecting loved ones as well as strangers. Some of those strangers could develop complications and even die. That was the case with a 79-year-old man who did everything right but still ended up succumbing to a COVID-19 infection last month. His wife wrote an obituary that went viral, blaming the severity of the pandemic on politicians and people who disregard the rules.
“Dave did everything he was supposed to do, but you did not,” David W. Nagy’s obituary reads, per Report Door “Shame on you and may Karma find you all!” The obituary mentions both President Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, saying politicians like them did not take the pandemic seriously.
“Family members believe David’s death was needless,” it reads. “They blame his death and the deaths of all other innocent people, on Trump, Abbott, and all of the other politicians who did not take this pandemic seriously and were more concerned with their popularity and votes than lives.”
The obituary says that “the many ignorant, self-centered and selfish people who refused to follow the advice of the medical professionals, believing their ‘right’ not to wear a mask was more important than killing innocent people” are also to blame for David’s death.
Age, sex, and comorbidities are risk factors for COVID-19. Older patients with preexisting conditions are more likely to develop life-threatening complications, and the virus kills more men than women of the same age. David had heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. He was in a nursing home recovering from a fall since March, as the family decided he’d be safer there from COVID-19. He tested positive in early July, and treatment with remdesivir and plasma did not work. David spent his last two weeks on a ventilator before his kidneys started failing.
The obituary ran in the local paper in Jefferson, Texas, on July 30th, The Washington Post reports. From there, it went viral online, with pictures of it being shared thousands of times on Twitter and Facebook.
“I was angry at the situation, and the way people are talking and treating the pandemic, the way people act like this is nothing,” David’s wife Stacey told The Post. “It’s because of their carelessness, and because of our politicians not getting control of this thing is why so many people are dying. I was just very, very angry. That’s why I wrote it, and I meant everything I said in it.”
Mrs. Nagy said the response to the obituary was unexpected, and she hopes her message will inspire more people to wear masks.
