Kids Forced to Say Goodbye to Their Mom Using a Walkie-Talkie as She Died From Coronavirus

He said that if the death toll stays at or below 100,000, “we all together have done a very good job.”

That have lost, or continue to lose loved ones due to this pandemic.

With the age of those infected getting younger and younger.

Sundee Rutter was a breast cancer survivor who died as a result of COVID-19 on March 16th.

As their mother was losing her battle with coronavirus, Elijah Ross-Rutter and his 5 siblings said goodbye to her using a walkie-talkie.

Ross Rutter, her fourth oldest child, said: “I told her I love her… she shouldn’t worry about the kids.”

All 6 of her children, as well as her sister and mother, said goodbye via the handheld radio device.

She was used to having her family by her side during her cancer treatments, but with coronavirus, she could only communicate with them from behind the glass.

But that quickly changed and she was soon isolated by the hospital.

Ross Rutter said: “Like, I’m about to lose my best friend and she can’t even hear me.”

The hospital in Washington where the first known US case of COVID-19 was treated.

Where hospital staff wearing full protective suits would come in and out.

Later saying that they were both sent home from the hospital.

“She thought she had the flu, probably, but like, the coronavirus? It was kind of hard for us to understand how she could get it because not that many people had it around here,” Ross Rutter said.

There were only 9 deaths in Washington state when she was diagnosed, compared to Monday, where there were 1,068 cases and twenty-one deaths. Just in Snohomish County, where Rutter lived.

This time, her son was confined to the visitors waiting area, while the doctors examined his mother.

She was being treated for Pneumonia, and the next day tested positive for COVID-19. He said “For a while, she was able to text,” adding that she told him she was “much better” when he asked her how she was doing March 12. Text messages then dwindled, turning into emoji-only responses.

He said: “She was sending me hearts on the messages but she wasn’t replying.” She died later that afternoon.

Her children described her as “kind, beautiful, caring, and goofy,” but most importantly willing to put her children before herself.  

They have donated more than $275,000 to her family, which the oldest, twenty-four year old, Tyree Rutter, plans to use to secure housing for him and his younger siblings after he completes his last year at university. Ross Rutter said: “Like it’s crazy how much love and support we’ve been receiving from the community, it kind of goes to show how big of an impact my mom had on our community.” “She was a supermom, you know?”