A family said goodbye to their grandparents over FaceTime after both of them died from the coronavirus on the same day
Getty Images/Christopher Furlong
Merle Tofte, 86, and Dee Tofte, 85, died on March 16 at Peacehealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington, after testing positive for COVID-19.
Neither the Toftes' five children nor their grandchildren were allowed to visit the couple while they were in the hospital because of the virus.
Instead, hospital workers set up a FaceTiime call where everyone could say their goodbyes.
A couple who were married for 52 years died within hours of each other after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, and their relatives had to say their final goodbyes through a FaceTime call.
Merle Tofte, 86, and Dee Tofte, 85, died at Peacehealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington, on March 16.
In their final hours, healthcare workers at Peacehealth Southwest organized FaceTime calls with a chaplain and the couple's children and grandchildren so they could say their goodbyes, the Toftes' youngest daughter, Michelle Taylor, told KATU.
"It's heartbreaking. The staff [at Peacehealth Southwest Medical Center] was amazing. They did something I will be forever grateful for. They set up a facetime call with my parents, each in a different room, with a chaplain with their grandchildren and children so we could all say goodbye to them. We will all be forever grateful for that," Taylor said.
The Toftes learned they were infected just days after attending an 85th birthday party for Dee on February 28.
Family members are still unclear where the couple contracted the virus, but both were having trouble breathing and had coughs and fevers.
The couple died 10 days after they first started showing symptoms. According to the Oregonian, they were the first deaths linked to coronavirus in their county.
"The fact that they both went together, even though it was really hard on us, it was best for them," their daughter Lori Kohler, told The Washington Post. "If only one was left, then that would have been awful."
The couple's five children were barred from visiting them the hospital, and because of new guidelines in the state, the family can't gather for a funeral.
"I understand it, I do, because everyone has to make sacrifices right now. But this is a huge one for us. But it's okay, it's the right thing to do. We will have a celebration of life later," Taylor said.
She wants to warn others about the virus and hopes people are taking it seriously.
"[The pain] is unbearable at times," Michelle said "I just want people to take it seriously. That's what I want. I never thought this would happen to our family. I know that sharing their story is helping people really understand that this virus is taking people's lives. I would say — be safe, be kind, be smart."
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