Michael Freedy, 39 died from COVID complications on Thursday after expressing regret over not taking the COVID vaccine.
According to Fox5 News, Freedy went to the hospital for what he thought was a severe sunburn after returning from a family vacation in San Diego two weeks ago with his fiancée Jessica DuPreez and their children.
A COVID test came back positive.
He initially thought he could fight it at home in isolation, but things took a turn for the worse a few days later when he woke up in the middle of the night, unable to breathe. Freedy was hospitalized with pneumonia in both lungs and was later transferred to the intensive care unit of another hospital where he was placed on a ventilator.
He died Thursday morning with DuPreez by his side.
DuPreez told Fox 5 News that they wanted to wait one year after the release of the vaccine “to see what effects people had, but there was never any intention to not get it.”
One of the last text messages he sent to her was “I should have gotten the damn vaccine.”
“He is only 39. Our babies now don’t have a dad,” DuPreez said. The couple has five children ages ranging from 17 months to 17 years. “You can’t say I am young and it won’t affect me because it will.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with expenses.
DuPreez and their eldest son have since gotten the shot. The couple’s other children are younger than 12-years-old so they do not meet the requirement to get vaccinated according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
