The family of a 39-year-old Nevada man is left in mourning after he died from COVID-19.
Jessica DuPreez told NBC12 that two weeks ago, her fiancé Michael Freedy went to the ER after he was left horribly sunburnt following a trip ion San Diego. Freedy left the hospital testing positive for COVID-19.
DuPreez said he tried to fight it at home. She told the Washington Post that one day around 3 a.m., Freedy woke her up "panicking" that he "couldn't breathe." He tried standing but fell over. They went back to the hospital where it was revealed he had low blood oxygen. Freedy went on oxygen.
Last Monday, Dupreez said she received texts that read "911 911 911." Freedy was going into the ICU.
"I told him to please fight so he can come home to us," she told the the paper. "He said he was, that he promised, that he was trying, that it was just hard."
When she went in to see him, she says the machine went "crazy" and his pule was gone.
Freedy died last week. One of the last texts he sent to DuPreez read, "I should have gotten the damn vaccine."
DuPreez said Freedy wasn't opposed to the vaccine – the couple were just waiting "one year" to see how other people reacted to the virus. She added that she and family were cautious throughout the pandemic as they wore face masks, washed and sanitized their hands and did pick-up orders when it came to shopping.
DuPreez told NBC 12 she and her eldest child are now vaccinated.
Despite sharing Freedy's story as a caution to the others to get vaccinated, DuPreez said she was met with "fat-shaming comments" on her husband's Twitter account and others accusing her of "playing into 'fear propaganda.'" Some commenters claimed her husband is alive and that the story isn't real.
She said their five kids are taking their dad's death the hardest.
"They′ll stop and they'll cry and be upset and say how they miss him, and then they'll be back to playing their games," she told the Post.
"Just lost in their games. I've never been so thankful for an iPad in my life.
Because if I could just get lost in a game like that, it would probably be way easier."
A GoFundMe page was set up for the family.
