A woman from Ohio says her family has been 'destroyed' by the coronavirus, with her parents and brother dying while her husband is...
A woman from Ohio says her family has been 'destroyed' by the coronavirus, with her parents and brother dying while her husband is in hospital fighting for his life.
Tragedy struck Kelly Conkey Billups who lost her brother to Covid-19, followed by both her parents, in the space of just three days. Her Husband Don is now clinging to life on a support ventilator.
Conkey Billups, 54, shared her story with The Columbus Dispatch with a message to others to stay at home and keep your loved ones safe.
Kelly Conkey Billups (pictured in the center) with her family. Her husband Don Billups (far left) is on a ventilator fighting for his life. Parents Judith and Lewis sit at the front and her brother stands David Cokey stands right, have all sadly died
Kelly Conkey Billups spoke to The Columbus Dispatch describing her grief of losing her parents and brother to Covid-19, while her husband also fights for his life in hospital
'It has destroyed my family. It has broken my family,' she told The Columbus Dispatch from her home in Grove City home, where she is quarantined.
'It's like a nightmare. It's like knowing that a big winter storm is blowing in and you get prepared and you hunker down and you just wonder how bad it's going to get, how long it's going to last, and what happens when it's all over and how you dig yourself out,' she said. 'But I don't know how to dig myself out now.'
David Conkey, Kelly's brother, died on Sunday aged 51 after falling ill. They had all been gathered as a family over 7 - 8 March.
To compound Conkey Billups' grief, both of her parents Lewis and Judith Conkey - reportedly highschool sweethearts who had married in 1963 - passed away the following Tuesday just a couple of hours apart at a Grove City hospital.
Judith Conkey, who died aged 75, had undergone a recent surgery and required rehabilitation. David Conkey and his wife traveled together to Columbus, Ohio to help get their mother settled in a rehab home. During this time, the family spent two days together.
Of their time together, Conkey Billups said: 'We laughed and joked and just had a ball.' However, when he returned home, David Conkey developed symptoms. On 10 March he was diagnosed with ear and sinus infections, and two days later was put on a ventilator.
Conkey Billups takes a selfie with her father Lewis, who passed away from Covid-19 last month
Her mother Judith, also passed away last month aged 75 hours apart from her husband Lewis whom she had married is 1963
That Friday, their father Lewis began to experience symptoms of Covid-19, shortly followed by their mother Judith. Conkey Billups also had to call an ambulance for her husband Don on 23 March.
Conkey Billups says that her Don had texted her saying he was struggling to breathe, and two days after was also put on ventilation.
After experiencing the loss of her brother and seeing her parents put on ventilation, she said: 'I prayed to my brother to come with God to take them [her parents] together because our parents would never have survived knowing that we lost him,' she said.
'They would not have been able to recover. Not ever.' They died a few hours apart.
At first, Don Billips tested negative for Covid-19 but doctors suspected it was a false-negative. After being tested for a second time, the results are currently pending., according to Fox8.
A friend of Conkey Billups helped start a GoFundMe campaign to help the family. By Friday 3 April, it has now raised over $42,000 of its $50,000 target.
'Writing on the GoFundMe page, her friend wrote: Please consider giving what you can, as Kelly is always one of the first to offer assistance to those in need.
'She reached out to me during a difficult time in my life, and she had only known me through Facebook.
'I know I am not alone. She brings kindness to strangers all the time. This money will help the family tremendously. If it cannot be used for the family, I am confident it will be paid forward.'
As of the 2 April, the US has had 245,356 confirmed cases of the coronavirus with over 6,000 deaths. Ohio has had 2,902 confirmed cases with 81 deaths.
As of the 2 April, the U.S. has had 245,356 confirmed cases of the coronavirus
The number of cases in the U.S. is vastly out-pacing those in other countries
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