COVID-19: Husband and Wife of 53 Years Died Few Minutes Apart While Holding Hands [A Bittersweet Story]

On June 18, Betty and Curtis Tarpley died 25 minutes apart due to COVID-19. The husband and wife were married for 53 years. They spent their last moments together in a Texas hospital where they died while holding hands. 

The couple's son, Tim Tarpley, said that his 80-year-old mom had been sick for a few days. He took her to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. The medical staff found out that she had coronavirus.

On June 9, Betty got admitted, and two days after, Tim's 79-year-old dad got admitted too. Tim said that his dad has been doing well in the ICU. The nurses even wheeled Curtis to Betty's unit so that they could spend time together. 

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The sad goodbye

When Betty's condition worsened, Tim said that his mom called him and his sister, Tricia. She told her kids that she was ready to go. Tim did not want to accept his mom's decision at first. He said that he is not yet ready. He has so many things to do in life, and he wants to show them to his mom. 

The hospital staff allowed Tim and Tricia to visit their mom twice. During their first visit, Betty had heavy medications, so she was not aware of their presence. When the children came the next day, their mom was alert and cracking jokes. Tim said that he saw through that his mom was uncomfortable. The doctors also said that she did not have much time. 

Tim called his dad to update him of Betty's condition and told him how much he loved him. After receiving the update, Curtis' oxygen levels became unstable. 

(Photo: unsplash/ Sven Mieke)

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Tim said he felt like his dad was fighting because he was supposed to do so. After hearing that Betty would not make it, Curtis stopped fighting for life. Tim knew that his dad was also tired and was in pain. Everything happened so quickly that Tim and Tricia were not able to see their dad again.

Husband and wife brought together before their death

Tim said that a nurse, whom he had never spoken to, arranged his parents to be together. Both decided to go on comfort care. It involved getting heavy doses of medication to ease the pain. 

One of the ICU nurses, Blake Throne, felt that the right thing to do is to get the dying couple together. Together with the team, he moved Betty to her husband's side in the ICU. A nurse said that Curtis tried to look over Betty, but he was too weak. The husband opened his eyes and raised his eyebrows showing that he knew his wife was there. 

Throne put the wife's hand on the husband's arms.

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Communication without words

Tim said that it was evident that his parents knew each other so well. He said that they could communicate without words. After about 20 minutes, Betty died. Twenty-five minutes after, Curtis died following his wife. Tim was grateful for the empathy and kindness of the hospital staff. 

Tim was not sure how his parents caught the COVID-19. He said that he had to quarantine because he also got infected. When his parents were in isolation in March, he visited them often. It gave him another level of peace because their bond got stronger. Their family and friends hope to celebrate Betty and Curtis's life next year.