Wife Finds Her 32-Year-Old Husband’s Last Words Left On His Phone After He Dies From Coronavirus
InterviewJon Coelho, 32, spent the past month in a hospital in Danbury, Connecticut, where doctors helped him fight the coronavirus. Sadly, he has become one of the 49,963 Americans who lost against it, dying of cardiac arrest brought on by the disease.
On Wednesday, his wife Katie, 33, went to the hospital and gathered Jon’s belongings. In the process, she opened his phone and tried to save as many pictures of him and their two children as she could. However, what she found on the device completely stunned her. Jon had left her and the kids a goodbye letter.
Image credits: Katie Coelho
Image credits: Journey for Braedyn
Image credits: Katie Coelho
Image credits: Katie Coelho
Jon and Katie met as students at Western Connecticut State University. They started out as close friends, but eventually became boyfriend and girlfriend, and tied the knot in 2013. They have two children: Braedyn, 2 and a half, and Penelope, 10 months.
Katie and Jon had worked really hard to build their family. Katie told BuzzFeed News they had two miscarriages and went through IVF. Braedyn was born with severe neurological problems and the parents were told he had just six weeks to live.
As fate would have it, he survived. As Katie cared for him full-time, and Jon provided for the family working at a nearby courthouse.
Image credits: Katie Coelho
Jon’s friend Jacob Wycoff told Bored Panda that he was an excellent man. “Jon was a very loving husband, father, and friend,” Wycoff said. “He was the sole provider for his family so that his wife could stay home with the kids. When it was his turn to spend time with them, boy did he love that.”
Wycoff went to college with Jon and Katie, and he and Jon belonged to the same fraternity. They remained close friends over the years, attending each other’s weddings as well as having children around the same time.
“Jon was never afraid to tell his friends that he loved them. He had a very kind heart,” Wycoff added.
Image credits: Katie Coelho
Because Braedyn is considered high risk for the coronavirus, the entire family had been taking quarantining very seriously. Katie and the kids stayed home, but Jon, an essential worker, still had to go to work.
“My husband wore gloves, masks, he washed his hands,” Katie explained. “He was so super vigilant because he was so afraid of what would happen to our son if he caught it.”
On March 24, however, Jon found out he’d been in contact with someone who’d tested positive for COVID-19. Even though Jon didn’t feel too bad — just fatigue, a migraine, and no sense of smell — he got tested, and the results came back positive, making the man quarantine himself in a separate part of the house.
Wycoff said Jon previously had cancer when he was 8 and 16, but according to the doctor, that should not have caused any complications with COVID-19. “He was otherwise a healthy 32yr old.”
“Within 24 hours, he started coughing, and with the coughing fits, he wouldn’t be able to catch his breath in between,” Katie said. “The doctor told him to go to the hospital because he’d probably need nebulizer treatments.”
Image credits: Katie Coelho
The first week, the doctors tried treating him with medications, but Jon was still struggling and had to be intubated.
“I don’t know why I put my phone on vibrate that night, but I did,” Katie said. “And I slept through a 4 a.m. phone call from him that said his breathing got a little weird in the night, so they said they’re gonna have to let his body rest so he could come home to me and the kids, and that he loved us.”
Image credits: Katie Coelho
After Jon was put on the ventilator, the doctors still expected him to make a full recovery. But his condition soon became worse.
“They tried to wake him up on day seven, and he was breathing way, way, way too hard,” Katie said. “They thought he was having a panic attack, so they FaceTimed me, and he just said, ‘I love you and I’m sorry’, and then they had to re-intubate him.”
After that, Jon’s kidneys started failing, and he ran a high fever for days. The man had to be sedated because he would wake up delirious, panicked, and would try to get rid of his ventilator tubes.
“He especially became agitated after talking to us, because he’d try to talk over the ventilator, and it would cause too much stress and his breathing would get out of whack.”
As the weeks went by, Jon did show signs of improvement. Doctors started the gradual process of weaning him off the sedatives and began testing to see how well he would manage off the ventilator.
“They trialed him all day [Tuesday], and he did a really good job,” Katie recalled. [He would get nervous, but the nurses were able to talk him down, and he was responsive.]
Katie spoke to a doctor that night around 9 p.m. and the conversation made her hopeful.
“The doctor I’d spoken to said, ‘We’re going to be able to wake your husband up in two days,” she said. “And they started talking to me about recovery.”
But after a few hours, Jon went into cardiac arrest and died.
Like Wycoff pointed out, the US is beginning to have discussions on ‘reopening the economy’. However, Jon’s story proves that as long as the virus is still around, anyone can be affected and no age group is immune to its devastating impact.
A GoFundMe was started to support the family
Image credits: Katie Coelho
Here’s what people said after reading their story
There will be many many more messages like this if the USA rushes to reopen their country. If you are willing to sacrifice lives for the sake of the economy, then maybe it’s time for a new type of economy.
I hate that we are so powerless against this, that the business' are in charge and not the people. If this country opens itself up in the state we are in, that second wave is going to be way worse than originally expected.
Load More Replies...And some idiots want to go back to work,my condolences to the family.
Someone wanting to go back to work is one thing. But wanting someone to sacrifice their life so that you can get a haircut is a totally different level of ignorance and heartlessness.
Load More Replies...Kleenex is in short supply these days for this amount of tears. So sorry for your loss.
But there's no shortage of onion-chopping ninjas.
Load More Replies...I'm crying...I am so sorry for her and her kids...may he rest in peace...
The sadness of every loss like this is simply immense. This did not have to happen. The first cases in the US were ignored. Everything that should have been done WHEN it could have made a great impact on the spread of this virus was ignored. Trump is culpable of criminal neglect. So is the Republican party for using him as a useful idiot to distract everybody's' attention away from what is quietly being done away from the limelight. Please, all of you amazing Americans, put a stop to this in November!
@SBW7, I am well aware that some entirely overzealous local officials royally screwed us all when they did what your "dear leader" Trump does on a daily basis: they thought that they knew all about it way better than the doctor did. HOWEVER, there is a tremendous difference in how any government can be expected to act depending on if they know about it before they have any cases and how they can be expected to act where the disease originated but it was not known what it was, nor that is quite literally was a new disease. China announced that people were sick with a new virus on December 31, a few days later the virus was isolated but it took longer until it was understood that it could spread from human to human. Here you have "A Complete List of Trump’s Attempts to Play Down Coronavirus He could have taken action. He didn’t." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/opinion/trump-coronavirus
Load More Replies...Such a beautiful loving man. May his wife and children find peace and be surrounded by soo much love!
This just shows how scary the disease is and while we think it's just a worse version of the flu, in reality there's still a lot we don't know about it. Young people are also inexplicably dying. I read an article which said that scientists found this irregularity in patients of the disease; most of them had developed small blood clots throughout the body, which could combine and cause bigger problems. Ebola and other viruses made the blood more watery. Corona causes it to clot irregularly. It's a serious disease. I will acknowledge that it could be worse, and thank God it isn't, but it's not negligible as some idiots think
Living-Shadow, I've been reading that too, about the clotting. People with mild symptoms suddenly taken down by a stroke. It's a very bizarre illness and seems to be different in different parts of the world. There was no mention of younger people with covid dying in Italy from strokes - but perhaps they just haven't had time to do the numbers yet. Either way, blood clots from "the flu" is a whole new thing.
Load More Replies...Oh god, that is such a heartbreaking story. He sounded like a wonderful person, husband and father and my heart aches for those he left behind. Such a tragedy! This is why it makes me so angry when people don't take this virus seriously. You never know who you might affect or even end up killiing. Stay home people!
Jon was my son's friend and fraternity brother. Everyone is absolutely devastated.
50,000+ deaths and yet America still kinda ain't getting it. More fool them, as much as my heart bleeds for everyone that's lost somebody. X
Yes, part of me wants the stupid people to get what they deserve, but the bigger part of me is really worried for all the good, sensible people in the US who will suffer because of them. They have a long road ahead.
Load More Replies...Yet we are constantly told it does not harm the young and healthy, he looked young, he looked healthy so why?
This teared me up. Knowing that it could have been avoided if Trump had done his duty make me real sad. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Damn virus.
Watched the interview she did with Anderson Cooper today.... She is amazing, and needs and deserves so much support right now.
Well the pats lost the powerhouse so the other teams might have a chance
Load More Replies...Hui Huit, I do find it odd, that on the very day her husband died, she's on social media telling everyone about his personal final message to his family. Could have spent a few days focussed on the kids first.
Load More Replies...Do you think anyone will mourn you when you pass? I won’t, for one
Load More Replies...Wasn't this the guy who posted that it was all a hoax and the gov was out to get him etc? Then ironically, died of covid? Plus...having the audacity of starting a gofund me? Sad state of affairs, to be an American these days.
Unless you can post a link to that, don't speak ill of the dead.
Load More Replies...Maybe she wants other people to take the threat seriously so that some of them might not have to face the same thing?
Load More Replies...There will be many many more messages like this if the USA rushes to reopen their country. If you are willing to sacrifice lives for the sake of the economy, then maybe it’s time for a new type of economy.
I hate that we are so powerless against this, that the business' are in charge and not the people. If this country opens itself up in the state we are in, that second wave is going to be way worse than originally expected.
Load More Replies...And some idiots want to go back to work,my condolences to the family.
Someone wanting to go back to work is one thing. But wanting someone to sacrifice their life so that you can get a haircut is a totally different level of ignorance and heartlessness.
Load More Replies...Kleenex is in short supply these days for this amount of tears. So sorry for your loss.
But there's no shortage of onion-chopping ninjas.
Load More Replies...I'm crying...I am so sorry for her and her kids...may he rest in peace...
The sadness of every loss like this is simply immense. This did not have to happen. The first cases in the US were ignored. Everything that should have been done WHEN it could have made a great impact on the spread of this virus was ignored. Trump is culpable of criminal neglect. So is the Republican party for using him as a useful idiot to distract everybody's' attention away from what is quietly being done away from the limelight. Please, all of you amazing Americans, put a stop to this in November!
@SBW7, I am well aware that some entirely overzealous local officials royally screwed us all when they did what your "dear leader" Trump does on a daily basis: they thought that they knew all about it way better than the doctor did. HOWEVER, there is a tremendous difference in how any government can be expected to act depending on if they know about it before they have any cases and how they can be expected to act where the disease originated but it was not known what it was, nor that is quite literally was a new disease. China announced that people were sick with a new virus on December 31, a few days later the virus was isolated but it took longer until it was understood that it could spread from human to human. Here you have "A Complete List of Trump’s Attempts to Play Down Coronavirus He could have taken action. He didn’t." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/opinion/trump-coronavirus
Load More Replies...Such a beautiful loving man. May his wife and children find peace and be surrounded by soo much love!
This just shows how scary the disease is and while we think it's just a worse version of the flu, in reality there's still a lot we don't know about it. Young people are also inexplicably dying. I read an article which said that scientists found this irregularity in patients of the disease; most of them had developed small blood clots throughout the body, which could combine and cause bigger problems. Ebola and other viruses made the blood more watery. Corona causes it to clot irregularly. It's a serious disease. I will acknowledge that it could be worse, and thank God it isn't, but it's not negligible as some idiots think
Living-Shadow, I've been reading that too, about the clotting. People with mild symptoms suddenly taken down by a stroke. It's a very bizarre illness and seems to be different in different parts of the world. There was no mention of younger people with covid dying in Italy from strokes - but perhaps they just haven't had time to do the numbers yet. Either way, blood clots from "the flu" is a whole new thing.
Load More Replies...Oh god, that is such a heartbreaking story. He sounded like a wonderful person, husband and father and my heart aches for those he left behind. Such a tragedy! This is why it makes me so angry when people don't take this virus seriously. You never know who you might affect or even end up killiing. Stay home people!
Jon was my son's friend and fraternity brother. Everyone is absolutely devastated.
50,000+ deaths and yet America still kinda ain't getting it. More fool them, as much as my heart bleeds for everyone that's lost somebody. X
Yes, part of me wants the stupid people to get what they deserve, but the bigger part of me is really worried for all the good, sensible people in the US who will suffer because of them. They have a long road ahead.
Load More Replies...Yet we are constantly told it does not harm the young and healthy, he looked young, he looked healthy so why?
This teared me up. Knowing that it could have been avoided if Trump had done his duty make me real sad. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Damn virus.
Watched the interview she did with Anderson Cooper today.... She is amazing, and needs and deserves so much support right now.
Well the pats lost the powerhouse so the other teams might have a chance
Load More Replies...Hui Huit, I do find it odd, that on the very day her husband died, she's on social media telling everyone about his personal final message to his family. Could have spent a few days focussed on the kids first.
Load More Replies...Do you think anyone will mourn you when you pass? I won’t, for one
Load More Replies...Wasn't this the guy who posted that it was all a hoax and the gov was out to get him etc? Then ironically, died of covid? Plus...having the audacity of starting a gofund me? Sad state of affairs, to be an American these days.
Unless you can post a link to that, don't speak ill of the dead.
Load More Replies...Maybe she wants other people to take the threat seriously so that some of them might not have to face the same thing?
Load More Replies...
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