WHITE PLAINS, Ky. — The death toll of COVID-19 in Kentucky is more than 4,500 people since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
The virus has uprooted and changed lives across the Commonwealth. This includes families left grieving with the sudden loss of loved ones.
“I called the ambulance and kissed him goodbye and that was the last time I got to kiss him,” said Meadow Majors from White Plains, a rural part of Western Kentucky. “I never got to say the last ‘I love you.' It was just, it was three kissy emoticons, emoticons and that was it.”
She lost her husband James Tommy Majors on November 20, 2020.
“I did a lot for him all the time; he was everything to me. So that was the last thing I could do for him,” Majors said.
The 50-year-old widow makes cemetery flower arrangements. She made an orange flower arrangement for her husband as the last gesture of love.
Their three decades of marriage were wiped away by a virus.
“Some days it's getting a little better. And then some days it just sneaks up on you. And you just, I just have to sit back and get quiet and thank God for the 30 years that we had,” Majors said as she released tears.
Majors’ grief is heavy. Tommy died in hospital in a neighboring town called Madisonville.
“It doesn't help the lonely nights. Nighttime is the worst,” Majors said.
One late night, she came across a Facebook page.
“I was searching. I was searching for somebody to talk to somebody who could relate to what I was feeling to what I was going through. And I finally did find the page, the group for COVID widows and widowers,” Majors said.
The online support group became a source of connection for majors to share her story and connect with others in the same situation.
She explains Tommy died before she could be at his bedside.
“And so we, we got there, before he passed. and we were there when he passed.
I didn't get to hold his hand but the nurse did. So, I know he wasn't alone. And that was the worst fear he had was he didn't want to die alone,” Majors said.
She’s hoping Tommy isn’t a faceless number of the many people who’ve also lost their lives to COVID-19. Living in a rural part of the state, she’s calling for more access to resources during this grieving time.
“I, personally, I don't know who I would call if I wanted to see a counselor or, or just even video conference with a group,” Majors said.
Remaining optimistic by holding onto her husband’s spirit in her heart.
“There is joy to be found. If you look for it. And that's what my mission is to look for the joy because I can't live in the grief. It would kill me, and I refuse to,” Majors said. “I refuse to be sad for the rest of my life. Tommy wouldn't have wanted that for me.”
Caleb Potter, a Western Kentucky bereavement coordinator said grief groups will resume again sometime in March.
Potter said anyone needing help during this difficult time is asked to be proactive in seeking support, even if it's in a virtual format.
“It’s very easy for someone that has lost a loved one to feel like their loss isn’t validated, that their loved one has just become one of the numbers and statistic in relation to COVID[-19],” Potter said
Potter says it's vital for a community to acknowledge the loss to help heal.
He also said there will be a greater need for therapists to help fill this void.