Since the beginning of the pandemic Antwone and Hollie Rivers, from Lincoln Park Detroit, were extra cautious of the virus—like most people should be. They exercised social distancing and wore a mask at all times. But when the vaccine came out, the couple was skeptical and hesitant. They decided to skip vaccination for a while, but just as they started to reconsider their decision, tragedy struck their family of seven.
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Antwone Rivers, who was 39, died of COVID on 13 May. Now, Hollie is speaking up about her story so that she can encourage others to get their jabs.
Tragic death
The couple contracted the virus in April, and while Hollie escaped unscathed, Antwone’s condition started to deteriorate. Holly told her story on Fox 2 Detroit and said:
I know that it was like a week into us having Covid he started feeling worse and I started feeling better.
According to Holy, every organ inside Antwone’s body began shutting down. He struggled with COVID for a whole month before finally passing away. He was a father to five children, leaving Holly to take care of the family all by herself. She added:
Our oldest, she is 13, and she is sadder for the younger two because they are 3 and 1. And she's sadder they won't have the memories the other children will have.
Most of all it feels like a dream and it hasn’t hit me yet.
Uncertainty with vaccines
Holly told Fox 2 that a few weeks prior to their infection, the couple was talking about gettingvaccinated but now she regrets that they didn’t make the decision sooner. She mentioned:
It was funny because two weeks prior to this happening, we were talking about it more, saying maybe we should get vaccinated, and now it’s like, a big loss for everybody.
When asked if she would consider getting vaccinated now, she replied:
Yes, no questions asked.
