CORONAVIRUS UTAH
Utah Family Says Mom Died After Contracting COVID-19 At Family Gathering
LEHI, Utah – Less than a month after their mother’s sudden death from COVID-19, a Utah County family is preparing for a holiday without her.
They’re sharing their story in hopes of preventing the same fate for other families.
Patrice Grossman, 49, contracted COVID-19 at a family gathering, and that’s why her family said the best way to be there for each other may be to not see each other.
“She was an incredibly selfless person,” said Grossman’s daughter, Natasja French.
Natasja French. (KSL-TV)
This hospital was like a second home for Grossman.
“She worked in the NICU, the newborn ICU Unit,” French said. “And she just loved it so much.”
This is also where she died.
“It felt like the world was taken out right from under my feet,” French said.
For French, the loss was sudden and unexpected.
(French family)
“None of us were able to say goodbye,” she said.
Grossman died on Oct. 29 from COVID-19, which French said she contracted at a family gathering.
“I don’t harbor any ill will towards them,” she said. “I love them and I’m still happy that I saw them, but I also wish that I hadn’t because that was really the beginning of the end for my mom.”
French is now bracing for Thanksgiving, knowing it won’t be the same without her mother.
“My mom and dad would make up the mash potatoes and pumpkin pie,” she said. “I still go over to my parents’ place, and I wait for her to come down the stairs. I hear a creak in the floor and I go, ‘Oh wait, is that mom?’ It’s not mom.”
She also fears the risk loved ones like her father face if the whole family comes together.
French said her dad is immunocompromised and she fears she may be reinfected with the virus.
“I love them. I want to spend time with my family. But the reality is my mom got coronavirus at a family gathering,” French said. “I’m torn.”
French hopes her story can help others and encourage families to take social distancing guidelines more seriously this holiday season.
It’s just not worth it,” French said. “Just wear the mask.”
COVID-19 reinfection is possible and has been reported, although it is rare.
The family has established a GoFundMe* page here.
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
