Wife of 34-year-old Ga. man who died of COVID-19 shares heartbreaking story

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — “We honestly thought we were safe.”

A respiratory therapist from Warner Robins, Ga., is sharing her heartbreaking story after losing her 34-year-old husband to COVID-19.

Kevin Stevenson died Saturday after a week battling the virus at Piedmont Macon hospital.

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His wife, Aubrey Stevenson, shared her husband’s story with the hospital in hopes of preventing other families from going through what happened to them.

The video was filmed before Kevin Stevenson’s death.

Stevenson said she and her husband were not vaccinated because they were concerned about possible side effects and infertility.

“At that time it wasn’t worth the risk to me to get the vaccine,” Aubrey Stevenson said in a video released by the hospital. “It was too soon for me. I felt like they were just trying to push it out, and we didn’t have enough information. "

As time went on, the couple kept pushing back their decision.

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Stevenson had been working in a COVID-19 unit since March and said she and her husband were very serious about COVID-19 safety precautions.

“We were young and we just knew we would be ok,” Stevenson said.

Then the delta variant hit.

“Let me tell y’all, this strain is unforgiving,” Stevenson said.

Stevenson believes she got infected at work. Her husband tested positive on Aug. 10. While Stevenson recovered, her husband quickly got critically ill.

“We were fine Friday morning. Late Friday afternoon, he got out of the shower and his lips were blue,” Stevenson said. “I checked his oxygen it was 61%. We got to the hospital and we went on bipap. By Sunday, we were on the ventilator.”

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On Sunday, Stevenson announced her husband’s death on Facebook, calling him the “best person in the world.”

“Kevin was the kind of person who loves people with his whole heart. He spent every day making me feel special and beautiful,” Stevenson wrote. “I can truly say I know what loving someone entirely means.”

Now, she hopes sharing his story can help save lives. She said the side effects she’s seen from the vaccine are nothing compared to what her husband went through.

“Suddenly all the excuses we have for not getting the vaccine seem stupid,” Stevenson wrote on Facebook. “If our story can prevent another family from going through what my family is going through then here it is. I was dumb for not getting the vaccine.”

Stevenson’s colleagues have set up a GoFundMe to help pay for Kevin Stevenson’s funeral expenses.

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