Michigan Father of 5 Dies After Choosing Not to Receive the COVID Vaccine
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
gofundme
A Michigan father of five died from complications due to COVID-19 earlier this month, just weeks after making the decision with his wife not to receive the vaccine.
Antwone Rivers, 39, and his wife Hollie contracted COVID-19 in mid-April. Despite having no underlying conditions, his symptoms continued to worsen.
He was admitted to the hospital soon after, Hollie told FOX2.
"I know that it was like a week into us having COVID, he started feeling worse and I started feeling better," she said.
Antwone was placed on a ventilator, but eventually every organ in his body began to fail, Hollie told the news station. He died on May 13.
Hollie said that she and her husband took COVID-19 seriously — each wearing their mask and adhering to social distancing guidelines. However, the couple had decided they were not comfortable receiving the vaccine.
gofundme
"It was funny because two weeks prior to this happening, we were talking about it more saying, 'Maybe we should get vaccinated' ," she told FOX2. "And now it's like, a big loss for everybody."
Antwone — who loved ones said grew up under rough circumstances — was described as "a superhero dad" of five kids, ranging in age from one to 13.
"He made a commitment to his wife Hollie that their children would not have the same experiences he had growing up," a friend of the family wrote on a GoFundMe campaign created in his honor.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
"He was there for the birth of all of his children. He potty trained them all. He saw their first steps. Never missed a birthday. Because of this, his kids call him their superhero."
Hollie told FOX2 that she and the children have had a hard time processing Antwone's death.
"Hard - but it is even harder for our children," she said. "Our oldest, she is 13, and she is sadder for the younger two because they are 3 and 1. And she's sadder they won't have the memories the other children will have."
She added, "Most of all it feels like a dream and it hasn't hit me yet."
