A New Jersey husband and wife each died alone in the same hospital within days of each other after one came down with coronavirus, according to a report.
Alfredo and Susana Pabatao, who were married for 44 years, both died at Hackensack Meridian Health Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen after falling sick about three weeks ago, NJ.com reported.
The Palisades Park couple had attended a family gathering to mourn a relative’s death, where the majority of attendees became ill, according to the report.
Alfredo, 68, was admitted March 17 with a 102-degree fever to the hospital, where he works as a transport aide, the outlet reported. He was confirmed positive for the coronavirus following a swabbing test.
His wife, a 64-year-old assistant nurse at a nursing home, went to the hospital six days later when her fever reached 103.9 degrees, the report said.
Her daughter said Susana was doing well until she learned on March 26 that her husband had succumbed to the illness.
“She said ‘I can’t do this anymore. I’m having such a hard time breathing… I don’t want any tubes on me,’” her daughter Sheryl Pabatao said. “I said ‘Mom, I know you’re sad. But please don’t say this. You’re not going to die.’ ”
Susana was intubated the night she learned of her husband’s death then died four days later, according to the report.
At the time of her death, the results for her COVID-19 test had not been returned.
“My parents went from 0 to 100,” her daughter told the outlet. “I think people need to take this seriously. We all need to care for each other at this point. This is the time to care for our community and our neighbors.”