Kansas grandfather dies after being denied coronavirus test THRICE as he 'wasn't sick enough'
A 74-year-old man from Kansas reportedly died from coronavirus after a "week of immeasurable suffering," his wife has revealed. The man, identified as Dennis Wilson of Lenexa, began showing symptoms of in the second week of March and became ill on March 12.
The grandfather of six children reportedly went three times to see doctors, however, on each visit, he was told he did not have enough symptoms required to test for coronavirus, Dennis' wife Joanna Wilson said. He eventually became critically ill and had to be rushed by ambulance to the AdventHealth Shawnee Mission campus in Overland Park. Jonna, at the facility, was informed that she could not see her husband because she had to be put into quarantine too, according to The Kansas City Star.
Dennis succumbed to the deadly virus on Saturday as Joanna took to Facebook to write a heartbreaking post about her husband's passing, writing that his "fight is over." The post has now gone viral on social media. The 74-year-old grandfather was a former biology teacher who served as superintendent at Lamar R-1 School District and was working as a professional magician. He is now survived by Joanna, their three children, and six grandchildren.
Multiple reports from across the United States have emerged with many sharing similar accounts of challenges they have been facing to access the coronavirus test.
Joanna, in the post, recalled how the events unfolded, writing her husband had first gone to an urgent care clinic on March 12 after he began experiencing flu-like symptoms. The 74-year-old had reportedly been feeling sick for nearly a week, however, he was just advised by doctors to go home and drink plenty of fluids and rest.
The next night, on March 13, Dennis went to another urgent care clinic, where he tested negative for influenza A and B. He was sent home again under similar advice, Joanna wrote. On March 15, he began to gain energy briefly, however, by the evening he complained of shortness of breath. Joanna reportedly took him to AdventHealth around midnight when his condition became worse. A chest X-ray there showed Dennis was suffering from bilateral pneumonia. Although a doctor suspected it to be coronavirus, Joanna said that he still did not meet the conditions for testing.
Dennis, by 4am the next day, was rushed by ambulance to the AdventHealth Shawnee Mission campus in Overland Park and Joanna was asked to quarantine. She posted an image of Dennis' wallet on Facebook after she found playing cards inside, calling it "a little levity in the midst of a serious situation."
"Never in a million years would I ever have thought we would be in such a situation! Never!" she wrote that night. After the coronavirus tests came back three hours later, she wrote: "Confirmed! Please keep us in your prayers. And pray hard. Please!"Joanna was permitted to see her husband last Tuesday, March 17, for five hours.
"Dennis is still so very ill,' she wrote on Facebook after the visit. "Covid-19 has a strong hold on his lungs and won't let go! His pneumonia is extensive and debilitating and potentially very deadly! And as long as that's the case then he will need life support. Please continue to pray for him!" On March 21, Joanna announced that Dennis has passed.
"I walked into my home now knowing for sure he would never walk through the door again," she wrote in the touching post. "And now I start another complete quarantine, and think what kind of funeral I can plan from home, knowing it might not take place for quite awhile and might be a lot less than I think he deserves. More travesty!"
"And then, I have the task of completely ridding our home and belongings of Covid-19, something I'm not quite sure I know how to do or have the energy for. I cannot go anywhere or have visitors in so I'm now finding myself in the grips of great sorrow and grief completely alone. Where do I begin?" she added.
The US, as of Tuesday, March 24, has witnessed over 550 deaths because of Covid-19 and has over 43,000 confirmed cases of the viral infection, with the numbers steadily increasing.