A New Jersey man is on the verge of losing his wife, brother and two other family members – all of whom died of COVID-19 while living with him, according to a report.
Ed Kemble Jr. (61) from Burlington County has left behind how his loved ones contracted the dreaded disease and hopes his tragic story encourages others to follow all safety guidelines during the pandemic, reports NJ.com.
‘It could have come from many different directions. It is invisible. You can not see it, so you can not know where it came from, “Kemble Jr., a volunteer firefighter and truck driver, told the news office.
‘People need to be made aware (the virus is there). People (must) keep their distance from each other and obey the rules that everyone says, ”Kemble added.
Initially, Kemble’s diabetic wife, Barbara, was taken to a hospital in November when she was reportedly suffering from dehydration due to kidney problems.
She was tested for the coronavirus and diagnosed with the disease.
For the next few months, Kemble visited his sick wife of almost 40 years – he unloaded Jersey Mike’s subs and iced tea, but without entering her room.
On January 16, Barbara died of a stroke.
“Our whole lives have revolved around the fire department,” the grieving widower said of his wife, who was president of the Washington Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary in Delanco.
“Many times we walked and played in the city park,” he told NJ.com. ‘(The coronavirus) contributed to her (health) problems. Her cause of death was a stroke. ‘
In December, Kemble’s mother-in-law, Ruth Sharp Allen, is admitted to hospital after suffering from pneumonia and cough. She also tested positive for COVID-19 and passed away on December 2 at the age of 89.
Kemble’s younger brother, John Daniel Kemble, who lost both legs to diabetes, was subsequently taken to hospital because he needed emergency dialysis, NJ.com reported.
The brother, a former bus driver who held several positions at the Riverside Emergency Squad as an EMT, tested positive for the virus and died on Dec. 7 of a heart attack.
And less than a week later, Ruth Allen’s sister Eileen Wolverton – who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in the fall – died at Virtua Willingboro Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.
Wolverton, a member of the Delanco / Washington Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary, helped take care of Kemble’s bedridden brother, reports NJ.com.
Kemble said he was getting his second dose of COVID-19 vaccine along with the rest of the fire department on Wednesday – but he wished the jabs would be available sooner so his family could be protected.
“They should have been (available),” he said. “There would have been a hell of a lot of people living if it were.”