Couple Infected With COVID-19 Dies Minutes Apart While Holding Hands In Hospital

A couple died of COVID-19 just minutes apart, holding hands as they took their last breaths in a hospital. The details of the incident were revealed Thursday by an unnamed nurse.

A blog post published by WakeMed Health & Hospitals stated that the couple was admitted to the intensive care unit of the North Carolina hospital. The couple, identified as Thomas “Tommy” Fortenberry, 69, and his wife, Diane Fortenberry, 68, were married for more than 50 years.

The couple died within four minutes of one another on Jan. 13 after contracting COVID-19 around Christmas time, according to an obituary. The couple met each other while attending high school in Mississippi and got married as teenagers in 1970.

The couple was “always together and loved spending time with each other," WakeMed added, citing the couple's daughter.

In an obituary, family members said that they “don’t believe their leaving their earthly home only (four) minutes apart was a coincidence,” and that they “had such an amazing love for each other.”

“Tommy was a man of few words, but he loved with all he had. He was one of the good ones,” the obituary said. “Diane never met a stranger and was deeply loved by all who met her. … Her bigger-than-life personality could bring a smile to any face and laughter to every heart.”

Last month, the couple’s family decided to withdraw care for them after it became clear that neither would be able to recover from the virus. WakeMed said that the couple's two daughters made "the most difficult decision of their lives" to withdraw life support.

“After setting them up, side by side, hand in hand, we gave the family some time alone with their parents, one last time,” the unnamed nurse said in Thursday’s blog post. “As soon as we moved Mrs. Fortenberry into the room, Mr. Fortenberry’s heart rate and breathing stabilized. … I feel that this was proof that sedatives, narcotics and paralytics can’t separate the connection we have with our loved ones.”

The Fortenberrys died less than an hour after they were taken off ventilators, according to WakeMed and family members.

“With their daughters standing beside them, husband and wife were side by side, holding hands, their heads facing one another, and I swear Mr. Fortenberry had a smile on his face,” the WakeMed nurse wrote. “Our staff watched from inside and outside of the room while they drifted to the next life together. Calm, peaceful and pain-free.”

The Fortenberrys are survived by two daughters, three grandsons and four siblings, according to their obituary.

On Friday, state health officials said that at least 2,525,734 coronavirus cases have been reported in North Carolina, and at least 21,665 people have died since March 2020.