On April 22, 2020, Katie Coelho, 33, rushed to the hospital in Danbury, Connecticut, where her husband, Jonathan, was being treated. Nurses called Katie in the early hours of the morning and she arrived at around 3 a.m., but it was already too late.
Thirty-two-year-old Jonathan had passed away from cardiac arrest brought on by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.Jonathan had survived two bouts of cancer at ages 8 and 16 but had been in remission ever since and was thought to be fit and healthy. Working as a probation officer at a nearby courthouse, he was considered an “essential worker” and was not able to quarantine with the rest of his family when the state’s stay-at-home order had been issued in the wake of the CCP virus outbreak.
On March 25, Jonathan tested positive for the CCP virus after his symptoms quickly escalated from a loss of taste and smell to severe breathing difficulties. According to CNN, Jonathan had come in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus a week prior.
After a 28-day battle in hospital and 20 days on a ventilator, Jonathan seemed to be improving, but with a sudden cardiac arrest, the father of two lost his battle against the CCP virus.
The day Jonathan passed away, a devastated Katie retrieved her late husband’s belongings and headed home to their two children, Braedyn, 2, and Penelope, 10 months. Once home, she began scrolling through Jonathan’s phone in order to save precious photos and memories. There, she discovered information regarding life insurance and an emotional goodbye letter that Jonathan had penned to his wife and children before he was intubated.
“Katie you are the most beautiful caring nurturing person I’ve ever met,” Jonathan further continued. “You are truly one of a kind... make sure you live life with happiness and that same passion that made me fall in love with you.”
In the heart-wrenching letter, Jonathan also regaled watching Katie be the “best mom” to his kids was the “greatest thing” he had experienced.
The devoted husband and father reassured his wife that he hoped she would find love again one day.
“I’m so thankful I found the note, but the other part of me is so sad,” Katie continued, “because I know how scared he was and where his mind must’ve been to think he had to write something like that.”
Jonathan and Katie, who first met at Western Connecticut State University, were friends. They then became college sweethearts and got married in 2013.After Jonathan and Katie suffered from two miscarriages, the couple’s first child, Braedyn, was born with severe neurological problems, but despite a bleak prognosis—doctors predicted that the little boy might only have had weeks to live—Braedyn survived. Katie continues to take care of Braedyn, who has special needs, full-time, while when Jonathan was alive, the doting father provided for his family as the sole breadwinner.
Jacob expressed immense sadness on behalf of Jonathan and Katie’s children. “They’re not going to grow up to know how amazing their dad was,” Jacob lamented. “And that really is sad to me, because he is—was—an amazing guy.”
