Home Scandal and Gossip Kansas grandad dies from coronavirus after being denied test 3 times

Kansas grandad dies from coronavirus after being denied test 3 times

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Dennis Wilson Johnson County Kansas
Pictured, Dennis Wilson Johnson County, Kansas man and wife, Joanna.
Dennis Wilson Johnson County Kansas
Pictured, Dennis Wilson Johnson County, Lenexa, Kansas man and wife, Joanna. Images via Facebook.

Was Dennis Wilson Johnson County coronavirus death avoidable? A 74 year old grandfather fatally succumbs to COVID-19 despite 3 attempts to get tested.

A 74-year-old Kansas man has died from coronavirus after being turned away by doctors along with being denied taking the test for the infection three times.

Dennis Wilson of Lenexa first became sick March 12 and went three times to see doctors, says his wife Joanna, but on each visit, despite being sick, was told he did not have enough of the symptoms required to test for the flu like infection.  

Wilson finally got so ill that he had to be rushed by ambulance to the AdventHealth Shawnee Mission campus in Overland Park, told the man’s wife- who was unable to see her partner cause she too had go into quarantine.

Dennis died on Saturday, five days after tests confirmed the afflicted man did indeed have coronavirus.

Posted Joanna Wilson in a March 22 Facebook post about her husband’s passing which has since gone viral, ‘the fight is over’.

Lenexa KS man latest casualty as coronavirus pandemic continues exponential trajectory:

Dennis, a former biology teacher who served as superintendent at Lamar R-1 School District and was working as a professional magician, is survived by Joanna, their three children and six grandchildren. 

Dennis Wilson’s death comes as Americans across the nation have complained of similar challenges in getting tested for the coronavirus. 

As of Tuesday morning, there have been more upwards of 46,148 confirmed cases in the US of the infection, also known as COVID-19, causing 582 known deaths. 

Missouri has had 183 confirmed cases and three known deaths from the virus, reports the state’s Health and Senior Services Department. 

Dennis, who was one of the three persons to pass from the infection, was also the first person to die from COVID-19 in Johnson County, where he lived, reports The Kansas City Star.

Mountains moved this morning and I couldn’t be happier! I got a call from the patient advocate this morning and she said…

Posted by Joanna Wilson on Tuesday, March 17, 2020

A healthcare system overwhelmed and not designed for public health: 

On March 12, Wilson went to an urgent care clinic complaining of flu-like symptoms. He had already been feeling sick for about a week, but was told to go home and drink plenty of fluids and rest.

However, the next night, Dennis according to Joanna went to another urgent care clinic. When he tested negative for influenza A and B, she says, Dennis was sent home again under similar advice.

Dennis briefly had more energy on March 15, but by the evening was complaining he was short of breath. When he became worse, Joanna took him to AdventHealth in Lenexa around midnight. A chest X-ray showed he was suffering bilateral pneumonia.

Even though a doctor suspected Dennis had COVID-19, Joanna says he still did not meet the conditions for testing.

‘Never in a million years would I ever have thought we would be in such a situation! Never!’ she wrote that night. When the test came back three hours later, she added, ‘Confirmed! Please keep us in your prayers. And pray hard. Please!’

She was eventually allowed to see her husband for five hours last Tuesday.

Joanna posted a picture of Dennis’ hand as she held it in the emergency room after she was allowed to visit him, despite being quarantined at home for two weeks 

‘Dennis is still so very ill,’ she wrote on Facebook after the visit. ‘Covid-19 has a strong hold on his lungs and won’t let go! His pneumonia is extensive and debilitating and potentially very deadly! And as long as that’s the case then he will need life support. Please continue to pray for him!’

Come Saturday night, Joanna announced the news of Dennis’ passing.

‘I walked into my home now knowing for sure he would never walk through the door again,’ she wrote. ‘And now I start another complete quarantine, and think what kind of funeral I can plan from home, knowing it might not take place for quite awhile and might be a lot less than I think he deserves. More travesty!

‘And then, I have the task of completely ridding our home and belongings of Covid-19, something I’m not quite sure I know how to do or have the energy for. I cannot go anywhere or have visitors in so I’m now finding myself in the grips of great sorrow and grief completely alone. Where do I begin?’

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