A group of women is finding strength in their special, tragic bond: they are all widows after losing their husbands to COVID-19.
A group of women is finding strength in their special, tragic bond: they are all widows after losing their husbands to COVID-19. Pamela Addison’s husband, Martin, was a speech pathologist and only 44 years old when he contracted the virus last April.
One afternoon, he couldn't breathe, so Addison called 911.
"As paramedics took him down the stairs, I mouthed 'I love you,'" Addison said. "And then I saw him get into the ambulance and that was the last time I saw him."
Less than a month later, he died, leaving Addison a single mother to two young children.
"I just really felt like no one was gonna understand what I had gone through," Addison said.
As the pandemic raged on, she realized many women were dealing with the same heartbreak, so she started a Facebook support group, "Young Widows and Widowers of COVID-19."
Many of the women who spoke with Inside Edition said they weren't able to say goodbye to their husbands before their deaths.
Delia Ramos was not allowed in the hospital as her husband of 15 years battled for his life.
"He started feeling the symptoms on Father's Day," Ramos said. "And by July Fourth they called me that morning that his heart had gave out."
For Laura Guerra, the grief is still so fresh after her husband died only three weeks ago.
"My husband passed away on Christmas Eve, and I guess, everyone tells me take it one day at a time," Guerra said.
Even widows from around the world have joined, like Emma Charlesworth, who lives in the UK.
"It just goes to show that it doesn't matter where you are, we're all living this," Charlesworth said.
It's a sisterhood no one wants to be a part of, but the women are beyond grateful to have found each other.
"It's unfortunate that we're all in this little club, but it's the best feeling to know that there's others that understand you," Addison said.
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