In another painful tragedy caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a Florida-based couple in their seventies passed away on the same day, barely six minutes apart from each other. Before the pandemic broke out, neither Stuart Baker, 74, nor his wife, Adrian Baker, 72, were experiencing any illnesses or underlying medical conditions. According to their family, they were both in perfect health.

“Until it touches you or touches somebody you know or you hear a story, you kind of feel removed from it.”

Sadly, the couple developed symptoms of the COVID-19 in mid-March and passed away on Sunday, March 29, just 6 minutes apart from each other. 

The family has decided to share the story to create awareness about the pandemic, and hopefully encourage people to cooperate with the government on social distancing and safety protocols. 

Speaking with CNN, the couple’s son, Buddy Baker pleaded with the public not to let his “parents’ passing doesn’t go in vain.”

“Until it touches you or touches somebody you know or you hear a story, you kind of feel removed from it,” Baker told CNN [1]. 

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The family had been hoping for a full recovery at first

In an interview with CNN, Baker, an NFL sports agent, narrated the events leading up to his parents’ death. The family never imagined the worst-case scenario would be their parents passing away. There had been many moments of hope and recovery in between.

The couple had gone to the doctors twice before the father was finally admitted to the hospital. When they first started feeling unwell, they visited the doctor and were sent home to get some rest. After a few days, when there were no improvements, the couple returned to the hospital only to be sent home again and told to self-isolate.

According to Buddy, all these had been happening before the world literally shut down, ‘So you’re still not thinking this is going to be life-threatening.’

He continued to call and check on his parents daily, and sadly, their condition was not improving. On March 19, his father, who had shortness of breath and a fever, was admitted to the hospital, but his mother was sent home yet again. She still wasn’t showing any symptoms consistent with the virus.

At this point, the family still wasn’t certain of what the diagnosis was, although they had their suspicions. 48 hours after being admitted, the father was taken into the ICU, but he seemed like he was going to pull through when his oxygen requirements dropped from 60% to 50%. 

Read: He said goodbye to his mother over walkie-talkie as she died of coronavirus

It went from bad to worse

The family continued hoping for the best after their father showed signs of improvement in the ICU. Baker’s sister visited regularly with their mother who remained at home, although she couldn’t come close to the elderly woman at any point. On March 24, Baker received a call from the hospital that his father had tested positive for the coronavirus and it didn’t look like he would make it.

He was devastated by the terrible news and chose not to tell his mother. However, the poor woman was later taken to the hospital to be tested as well, although she showed no symptoms of the disease.

45 minutes after her arrivals, Baker received news that his mother had also tested positive for the virus. Her oxygen levels were too low and she didn’t look like she would make it either.

51 years together, and never a moment apart

Their parents were slipping fast, and in Baker’s words, “They were as compatible and inseparable as two human beings have ever been married and existed on earth.”

The family decided to have them moved into the same room and had their ventilators taken off. They were together in their last moments, and they passed within 6 minutes of each other. 

Their parents’ memorial was held in Boynton Beach, Florida, where only Baker, his children, and his sister’s immediate family were in attendance. For the rest of the family, friends, neighbors, and people all over the world who wanted to join in the ceremony, it was live-streamed.

Baker wishes his parents’ death would mean something to everyone out there. It’s important to follow all the instructions laid out by the government and health authorities. People need to stay at home and obey the lockdown orders, and if for any reason you need to be outside, maintain your social distance. Wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your face. It is unclear how his parents contracted the virus, but everyone else can try to learn from their story. 

“Hopefully people hear our story and it motivates them to do the right thing,” he said. “By doing that, maybe it won’t affect them or it won’t affect their family but maybe they help another family not endure the pain and agony that I, my sister, our kids and the rest of our family are enduring right now.”

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