Two sisters from Kentucky are warning families not to reunite this holiday after they lost three relatives when the coronavirus swept their family this fall.
Jessica Cheatham, 36, of Campbellsville, and Jama Allen, 32, of Liberty, told NBC News that they had both hired Covid-19 in October and November. Although they experienced moderate cases of the disease, their older relatives did not do so well.
His grandfather, Charles Herbert Tucker, hired Covid-19 in November. Shortly after the test was positive, the retired farmer was hospitalized and also learned he had stage 4 leukemia. Tucker died on November 22, two days after his 76th birthday and just four days before Thanksgiving.
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While her grandfather was hospitalized, the sisters’ father, Mark Davis Cheatham, tested positive for the virus on November 18. The Kentucky Department of Transportation’s 61-year-old equipment operator, who had high blood pressure, soon contracted double pneumonia and was hospitalized.
Just five days after Mark Cheatham’s positive test, his wife, Lisa Cheatham, 58, also tested positive. Later, she was hospitalized next to him at Norton Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky.
Kentucky has reported more than 250,000 cases of Covid-19 and more than 2,400 deaths, according to a count by NBC News. The state is one of 38 in the USA where masks are mandatory across the state.
The sisters said they were not sure how they or their family members had contracted Covid-19. Their parents were terrified of the virus, they said, and took all possible precautions, including wearing masks and gloves and practicing social detachment when possible. But, they said, many in their community were not so careful.
“We are such a small community. You see a lot of people who don’t wear masks, they’re not a social distance, ”said Allen.
Allen, who runs a retail store in Campbellsville, said customers often enter her store without masks and are furious when she asks them to put one on.
“It makes me very angry,” said Allen. “I am upset that they are blind to this virus and what it can do for you.”
Mark Cheatham, who initially developed only mild symptoms like a sore throat and earache before being hospitalized, was soon put on a respirator after suffering extreme shortness of breath, a dangerous symptom of the virus. He died on December 11.
“[He] I was heavily sedated, ”said Jessica Cheatham. “He had some complications with the respirator and ended up suffering brain damage and we were unable to talk to him.”
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Lisa Cheatham, like her husband, showed only mild symptoms after contracting the virus, but it has steadily worsened. She also contracted double pneumonia. The sisters were able to spend the last hours with their mother before she died.
“[Mom] he knew he was in his last moment and he was telling us that he was scared and that he didn’t want to die, ”said Jessica Cheatham.
Lisa Cheatham died on December 15, just four days after her husband, almost 40 years old.
Mark Cheatham loved to hunt, fish and ride a motorcycle, while his wife loved to paint and garden, the children said. The couple liked to travel and stay with their two grandchildren and two stepchildren. The Christmas and New Year holidays will be extremely difficult for the family, the sisters said.
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“Just because you haven’t caught this virus so far, it doesn’t mean that you still can’t catch it,” said Jessica Cheatham. “My parents were safe all year and just before Christmas they ended up doing it. Therefore, people need to stop thinking that they are exempt from this virus. “
The sisters are asking families not to meet for the next vacation to prevent the virus from spreading. Experts believe that Covid-19’s recent increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths could be related to large gatherings during Thanksgiving Day and could be exacerbated by meetings next week.
“[Families] you need to ask yourself, ‘Should I give up on this holiday or should I give up a lifetime?’ ”Said Allen.
Jim Seida contributed.