Widow, in emotional CNN interview, recalls heartbreaking final moments with her 42-year-old husband
"As sad and lonely and everything that is, you must, must stay with only the people in your house."
Maura Lewinger was forced to say goodbye to her husband, Joe, virtually as he died from complications with coronavirus last weekend.
Joe Lewinger, a father of three, assistant principal, and basketball coach on Long Island, was 42. When Joe’s doctor notified Maura that Joe didn’t have more time, she FaceTimed her husband one last time and thanked him for making her feel cherished and loved every day, according to CNN.
Maura, who described herself as “shattered” by his passing, said Joe wrote her love letters every morning and left them in her lunchbox. They detailed how much she meant to him and highlighted plans they had together for the upcoming day or weekend.
“No matter what you’re talking about, Joe was always listening,” Maura told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “Always felt like you were the most important person in the room.”
When the doctor told Maura that Joe’s pulse was gone, she played their wedding song, and “that was it,” she recalled. Joe, who leaves behind a son and two daughters, reportedly had no pre-existing conditions and started out with mild symptoms that included a low-grade fewer.
Around St. Patrick’s Day, his fever spiked, and he started to have issues breathing, according to CNN. Joe and Maura spent his final two days constantly FaceTiming, as she tried to calm him and make sure he didn’t feel alone.
“I thanked him for being the most amazing husband and for making me feel cherished and loved.”
Maura Lewinger describes saying goodbye to her husband over FaceTime as he died from coronavirus.
“Then the doctor took the phone and he said, ‘I’m sorry. But there’s no more pulse.'” pic.twitter.com/sBbg6hxWgj
— CNN (@CNN) April 4, 2020
Maura appeared on CNN on Friday to share her story and strongly advise the public to practice social distancing and stay at home whenever possible.
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