Today

Son Shares Heartbreaking Video After Parents Die of Coronavirus 6 Minutes Apart

"Hopefully, this can be the catalyst for a change," the couple's son shared in a moving video

Buddy Baker's parents were married for more than half a century before dying within six minutes of each other.
WTHR via TODAY

An Indianapolis man is sharing the heartbreaking story of how his family was directly impacted by the coronavirus to educate others about just how serious the current public health crisis is.

Buddy Baker posted a video on Twitter where he explains that his parents succumbed to the disease six minutes apart from each other, even though they had been in good health.

"As many of you know, my parents recently contracted COVID-19 and unfortunately passed away this past Sunday due to complications," he began.

WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, identified the parents as Stuart Baker, 74, and Adrian Baker, 72. Stuart, who had asthma, went to the hospital on March 19 and was expected to be released within 48 hours. His wife went to the hospital a few days later and her condition swiftly worsened.

"They both deteriorated day by day until Sunday until we had them put into same room when they said there was no chance either one was gonna make it," Baker told WTHR.

"My parents were amazing people. They were married 51 plus years. They passed away six minutes apart. Just a few weeks ago, they were in perfect health," Baker continued in his Twitter video.

In the video, Baker pleaded for people not to treat the virus casually and to remember that no one is immune to it.

"We live in a world of 'It can’t happen to me,' 'It can’t happen to us,' 'It can’t happen to my family.' Well, it happened to us," he said. "I’d like to take this time to make people start thinking about making a change. While the CDC and all the regulatory bodies make suggestions on what we should do, I’m not sure everyone really understands the importance of it."

Baker wants the death of his parents to inspire people to take the necessary precautions to slow the virus’ spread, which can help them avoid contracting it.

"Hopefully, this can be the catalyst for a change. Practice social distancingWash your hands as regularly as you can and, importantly, stay at home. This is an opportunity for something which was very bad and tragic to my family to prevent someone else’s," he said.

Baker, who works as a sports agent, also addressed the need for young people to realize they are also susceptible to the virus.

"Sometimes people can, especially young people, can feel like they’re immune from something or invincible when it’s simply not the case. It’s not the easy choice, but it’s the right choice. It’s the safe choice," he said.

"So, during this time, we realize it’s boring to stay at home and you’re not going to be able to live life as we’ve grown accustomed to. But it’s necessary to help fight and stop the spreading of this horrible virus.

"As part of my job, an essential quality is the ability to lead, some might say inspire others. While we usually look for a positive thing, to be an inspiration, we hope that what’s happened to us, to our family, inspires others to start leading and unifying with each other to make the right choice and the challenging choice. Again, it’s going to take all of us banding together and deciding that we’re going to stop the spreading of this virus. God bless and be safe."

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

Copyright Today Digital Originals
Contact Us