WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — A Florida woman is grieving the loss of her husband after she was hospitalized with COVID-19, only to come home to find her husband dead from COVID-19 complications.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Coronavirus
"It was just like walking into a horror scene. It's just been horrible," said Lisa Steadman of Winter Haven.
Steadman, 58, thought she was through the worst of it. She and her husband, Ron, were both diagnosed with COVID-19 in early August.
"I was in the hospital for eight days. Every day I talked to him," Steadman said.
Ron never ended up in the hospital, but instead was home taking care of the dogs while Lisa was gone.
"Sunday, when I talked to him, he told me his phone was acting up, that it wouldn't hold a charge. I said 'OK.' Well, then Monday came, I couldn't get ahold of him, so I called the police, Winter Haven Police Department, said [asked if they] could do a wellness check," Steadman said. "They came out, did a wellness check [and] talked to him. He was out with the dogs. They said, 'He has a cold,' but he was OK as far as not fixing to pass away or something."
But sometime between then and when Steadman left the hospital Wednesday evening, things took a turn for the worst.
"I could hear our little dogs. They were all in the bedroom together, the dogs and him. I rolled to the bedroom door. I opened the door, and he was on the bed passed away," Steadman said.
Ron died from COVID-related complications.
"He always wore his mask. He always used his hand sanitizer," Steadman said.
She said that neither of them had received a COVID-19 vaccine, not because they were against it, only because they wanted to wait.
Now, after talking with her doctor and dealing with the virus firsthand, her mind has changed.
"I said that when I got better, because I can't take it until the end of September, that I would get the shot," Steadman said.
Now, she has a message for everyone else.
"Remember, you are not promised tomorrow, so you better make sure you tell your loved ones you love them," Steadman said.
Click here if you would like to donate and help Steadman with funeral expenses.