‘And In Their Death They Were Not Parted’- Texas Couple Die Of COVID-19 While Holding Hands

NEW YORK (VINnews) — A Texas couple who both contracted COVID-19 died last Sunday while holding hands, according to an NBC News report.

Paul Blackwell ,61, and his wife Rosemary Blackwell, 65, who had been married for 30 years, died just minutes apart at Harris Methodist hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, according to their children. The two had contracted COVID-19 a week before Thanksgiving and their son, Shawn Blackwell, said that the virus “took a toll on them pretty quickly.” Blackwell said that his mother had shortness of breath at night, preventing her from sleeping and her father laid on the couch for days, forcing them both to miss Thanksgiving with their children.

The day after the holiday, the couple were admitted to hospital, where their condition soon deteriorated. At first the parents were able to video chat with their children, but found the lack of physical contact with their children difficult. On one video call Paul broke down, saying he didn’t think he would make it.

Son Brandon Blackwell said that “Their spirits were not too high during their hospital stay, but just us being there, I know, gave them some type of comfort. I was just glad they were able to see our faces.”

A short time later the two were transferred to ICU where both were intubated. The sons managed one last conversation with their parents before the intubation, but the next time they saw them, they were already on their deathbeds. Doctors advised the children to discontinue life support since both Paul and Rosemary were not going to make it.

In the end Paul and Rosemary Blackwell died holding each other’s hands — and the hands of Shawn and Brandon Blackwell, finally able to see their parents in person.

“It was definitely the hardest decision we ever had to deal with in our entire lives, but knowing that they’re together and the amazing parents that they were, we gave them a beautiful send off,” Shawn Blackwell said. “We wish it hadn’t happened to our parents, but it does make us feel a little better that they’re both together.”

The two dedicated teachers had spent decades teaching in various educational institutions in the town. Paul was a P.E. teacher, mentor and coach, while Rosemary was a devoted second grade teacher who drove 45 minutes to work for 20 years at 6:30 in the morning and refused to retire because she loved her job.

“You see your parents as superheroes and as the ones that are always there for you, and there’s nothing that’s ever supposed to happen them that’s bad, and we got a real big dose of reality,” Shawn Blackwell said.