GRIEF DURING COVID-19: WE’RE ISOLATED BUT NOT ABANDONED

Written by Carol Stillings | When Paul* started feeling sick, he and Donna weren’t too worried. They were healthy, and they’d been following the CDC’s guidance about COVID-19. Still, they took Paul to the hospital when his symptoms got worse. He tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was admitted. Doctors believed he had a mild case, though, and that supplemental oxygen therapy would turn things around. Donna went home, confident that her husband would join her again soon. She had no idea that grief was coming instead.

Later that day, Paul’s nurse called. Paul had gone into cardiac arrest, and there was nothing they could do to save him. Donna was stunned. In an instant, the one person walking side by side with her through an already-fragile time was gone — and the rest of her world crumbled.

“I’m angry,” she cries. “I’m mad at the doctors for giving me false hope. And I feel guilty for not being with Paul when he died. There can’t be a funeral. I can’t even be with my kids and grandkids. I’m mad at God, too. The love of my life is gone, and nobody can hold me.”