A Virginia couple in their 40s who refused pleas from their family to get the COVID-19 vaccine because they read misinformation online passed away from the disease within two weeks of each other, leaving behind five children and an infant grandson.
High school sweethearts Kevin, 48, and Misty Mitchem, 46, regretted not taking the vaccine just before they died, according to their bereaved loved ones.
Misty Mitchem, a medical transcriptionist by trade, declined to get the shot even though she had diabetes.
'He called me up [from the hospital] and said, "Mom, I love you and I wish that I’d got the shot",' Kevin's mother, Terry Mitchem, told NBC Washington.
'Of course I told him, "It's past. You can't do anything about it".'
The couple is survived by their four young children: Riley, 17; Leah, 14; and twins Taylor and Aiden, 11.
Kevin Mitchem had one daughter, Angel, 22, from a previous relationship. Angel is the mother of Lincoln, who will turn two in November.
High school sweethearts Kevin, 48, and Misty Mitchem, 46, of Stafford Count, Virginia, regretted not taking the vaccine just before they died, according to their bereaved loved ones. Misty died on September 23. Kevin passed away on October 8
Kevin Mitchem is survived by an adult child from a previous relationship and four young children from his marriage to Misty
Kevin Mitchem (seen sitting in the foreground) resisted pleas from his parents, Don and Terry Mitchem (top center and top right), to get vaccinated. Kevin Mitchem had one daughter, Angel (far left), 22, from a previous relationship. Angel is the mother of Lincoln, who will turn two years of age in November
After their parents’ deaths, the four younger children went to live with an aunt and uncle in South Carolina, according to Kevin’s brother, Mike Mitchem of Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
'Both our families have been turned upside down,' Mike Mitchem told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
'The kids are the main thing. His oldest daughter just had a son, and I'm sure she wanted him to get close with his grandfather, and that's not gonna happen now.'
According to Mike Mitchem, Kevin Mitchem developed a cough last month and went to an urgent care facility in Stafford County. He was then sent home with cold medicine.
Kevin Mitchem then returned to the urgent care facility a few days later after he wasn’t feeling any better, his brother said.
He then tested positive for COVID-19.
Days later, Misty Mitchem, who was diabetic, started feeling ill. She was then sent to Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she was treated for COVID-19.
‘Kevin called me on a Monday and said, “Misty’s in the hospital”,’ Kevin’s father, Don Mitchem, said.
According to Mike Mitchem, Kevin Mitchem (above) developed a cough last month and went to an urgent care facility in Stafford County. He was then sent home with cold medicine. Kevin Mitchem then returned to the urgent care facility a few days later after he wasn’t feeling any better, his brother said
Mike Mitchem announced his brother's and sister-in-law's passing in a Facebook post on October 9
Mike Mitchem launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding page that aims to raise $20,000. As of Sunday, it has raised more than $18,000
‘They say she’s got COVID. They automatically put her on a ventilator she was so bad.’
Misty Mitchem’s health deteriorated quite rapidly. Within days of her hospitalization, she was unable to breathe on her own and was put on a ventilator.
Doctors also said that her kidneys were only functioning at 50 percent.
The next day, Kevin Mitchem was admitted to the same hospital. By the time he was taken in for treatment, the family was told that Misty Mitchem might have fewer than 24 hours to live.
Don Mitchem recalled the moment he learned his son was to be hospitalized.
‘He said, “Dad, I’m going to the hospital”,’ Don Mitchem said.
‘I said, “Why, Kevin?”’
‘He said, “I feel bad”.’
The next day, Misty Mitchem died.
‘Within five hours, she was gone, Mike Mitchem told
