Bob and Sue Walker Phoenix Arizona couple married for 44 years die of COVID days apart. Both had health issues and were unvaccinated.
An Arizona couple married for 44 years and described as inseparable died of COVID two days apart in the same hospital after both testing positive for the deadly virus according to reports.
Bob and Sue Walker of Phoenix, AZ, tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before Thanksgiving, according to their children Jonathan 42, and twins Stephanie and Charissa, 40.
Sue tested positive while she was visiting a hospital for what she thought was a COPD flare-up, CNN reported. Bob took an at-home test shortly after.
On November 30, Sue passed away. Two days later, on December 2, Bob died too, both were unvaccinated and died on separate floors of the hospital.
‘It just happened very quickly,’ Charissa told CNN.
Best friends and inseparable couple rapidly decline
‘They were truly, truly a couple, you know. I mean, nothing could come in between them,’ Stephanie Walker told CNN. ‘And, unfortunately, Covid took them both within 46 hours of each other.’
The couple had been married for 44 years, both had health issues. Bob recently had his foot amputated due to complications from diabetes and had kidney problems, according to their son Jonathan. Sue had COPD, which can cause airflow blockage and breathing problems.
Jonathan also said their father had to be placed on a ventilator and was in the ICU, but Sue had appeared to be getting better and was able to move around.
The siblings said they arranged a FaceTime call between the whole family, so that their parents could see how they each other were doing.
Sue reportedly was stunned and was in a trance when she saw how Bob was faring, Jonathan said.
‘She kind of woke up out of it and was like: ‘Mate, you got to get better. We got to go home for Christmas, mate,” Jonathan told CNN. ‘I truly think that at that moment my mom’s heart broke.’
A day later, Sue died.
‘Covid is real, and it doesn’t judge,’
‘The admiration dad had for mom, he wouldn’t be able to go on without her either,’ Stephanie told AZ Family.
The siblings received their parents’ ashes just days before Christmas and are still adjusting to life without them.
Their mother had reportedly been excited about the boxes hanging on the tree that she had put money in. Every one of their kids and grandchildren were supposed to pick one out on the big day.
‘She was really excited about her boxes she just made to put on the Christmas tree. She was going to put money in each of them and have all the grandkids, and all of us pick a box, and whatever was in the box was what we got,’ Stephanie described.
The three of them now hope that others take the virus seriously and learn from their devastating ordeal.
‘Covid is real, and it doesn’t judge,’ Charissa told CNN. ‘Losing one parent to this virus – it’s horrible – but losing two parents within a short amount of time is unbelievable.’
Omicron ravaging the US
‘When you least expect it, it can take your life. We never expected it to take our parents’ lives,’ she told AZ Family.
COVID-19 has taken more than 24,570 lives in Arizona, and to date, more than 853,000 in the US according to Worldometers.
A total of 70,000 cases are currently in the state, as the state and nation experience an uptick in numbers due to the Omicron variant.
Hospitalizations have soared in the United States as the Omicron variant spread according to to CDC officials and that most hospitalized patients are not vaccinated and boosted. The rapid rise of infections has led to airlines, schools and businesses curbing operations because they lack healthy workers.
Almost 60 per cent of Arizonians are vaccinated, in line with 62 per cent of Americans that are fully vaccinated.
