An Army veteran’s wife was left reeling after losing her husband to coronavirus 48-hours after prematurely giving birth to their second child.
Jeffrey Michael Keene, 39, was diagnosed with COVID-19 in early October after complaining of a scratchy throat. Thankfully, his pregnant wife, Nicole, tested negative for the virus. Michael’s condition declined over the next few days. As a respiratory therapist, his wife administered breathing treatments to him at home. Still, the couple eventually decided Michael needed to go to the hospital.
Michael was admitted to an area hospital and moved into ICU. Nicole got a call the next day saying Michael was close to needing a ventilator. Knowing how difficult it is to get off the ventilator while fighting coronavirus, the couple decided to try alternative methods.
Michael eventually needed to be intubated, but on October 26, Nicole received an optimistic call about her husband’s condition. The breathing tube was removed, and it was estimated he could probably be discharged in a couple of weeks.
Later that same day, Nicole would end up in the hospital after a routine pregnancy exam due to complications.
“I just remember the doctor coming in and looking at me and saying, ‘We’re going have to take your baby right now.’ And I just could not understand that,” Nicole told CNN.
Michael Wesson was born unresponsive at 34 weeks. After spending 15 minutes resuscitating him, the baby came to life. Nicole was told the baby was being transferred to a different hospital for more specialized care when she woke up. It turns out, he would end up in the same hospital as his father.
Michael’s doctor advised her not to let him know that his newborn was in the same hospital. Michael had PTSD and was experiencing extreme anxiety in the hospital. Two days later, Michael’s health deteriorated, and Nicole, covered in head-to-toe PPE, rushed to be by his side while he took his last breath. Michael never got to meet Wesson.
Now Nicole spends her time taking care of her two children, wondering how she will provide for them. Michael was the sole provider for the family before contracting COVID-19. Right now, she relies on the Social Security Assistance she receives because of her husband’s death. A GoFundMe has been set up on her behalf. The online fundraiser has received more than $84,000 in donations.
“There’s a lot of guilt, like just living every day,” she said in her interview with CNN. “Even that I’m here and he’s not and the kids…just without their dad, growing up without him. He was an amazing man, amazing father.”
Nicole is contemplating moving to South Carolina to raise her children with the help of her in-laws and to be closer to where her husband was laid to rest.
