A Florida woman who was hospitalized for over a week with Covid-19 said she went home to what she described as a "nightmare" — her husband had died of the same disease while she was gone.
Lisa Steadman, of Winter Haven, about 50 miles southwest of Orlando, told NBC affiliate WFLA that her husband, Ron Steadman, was first diagnosed with Covid-19 in early August but that at the time it seemed no worse than a "bad cold."
But Steadman, 58, also came down with Covid-19 and fainted. She was rushed to the hospital, where she stayed for eight days. Ron Steadman, 55, stayed home to watch the dogs.
While she was in the hospital, Steadman could not get in touch with her husband. She asked police to conduct a wellness check, and they said he was well.
But less than 48 hours later, Lisa returned home on Aug. 18 to find her husband dead in bed. The dogs, she said, were starving and near death.
"I can't get that picture out of my mind," Steadman told WFLA. "I wish I never would have found him like that."
Both Steadmans were unvaccinated.
"Both of us felt that it hadn't been tested enough yet. Now after being in the hospital and talking with my doctor, when I am able to take it, I will in September," she said.
Steadman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Florida has grappled with a record Covid surge in August, just as children returned to the classroom. School nurses in the state have been overwhelmed by a lack of Covid safeguards.
Gov. Ron. DeSantis banned local school boards from issuing mask mandates; a Florida judge ruled Friday that the order was unconstitutional and allowed schools to continue requiring masks for students. DeSantis said Florida will appeal the ruling.
Meanwhile, weeks after Florida recorded multiple days of record daily Covid case counts, its death toll has surged to its highest level yet during the coronavirus pandemic.
