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‘I Feel Like He’s Forgotten About’: MN Woman Seeks Answers In Husband’s COVID Death At Air Force Base – WCCO


MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Minnesota spouse is questioning her husband’s medical care after he turned the first active duty Air Force member to die of COVID-19.

Technical Sergeant Michael Morris was 36 when he died in January, alone in his house on base in Aviano, Italy.

READ MORE: ‘This Spike Is Bad’: Several Key COVID Metrics At The Highest Levels Yet This Year

Months later, questions stay.

WCCO seemed into what occurred that’s left his household ready for solutions.

Amanda Morris admits to taking sooner or later at a time.

It’s the one actual possibility she has elevating a 13-, 11- and 5-year-old at house after shedding her husband.

Michael Morris had no underlying circumstances.

He referred to as for assist from his home on an Italian Air Power base when he couldn’t breathe from COVID-19.

Solely to die, his spouse says, hours earlier than that assist ever got here.

“I really feel like him serving 15 years and this occurs to him, I really feel like he’s forgotten about,” Amanda Morris mentioned.

Michael Morris grew up in Cass Lake as a member of the Leech Lake Ojibwa tribe.

He signed as much as serve his nation within the Air Power.

“That was all the pieces to him. In addition to me and the children he was all in regards to the mission, liked saving lives, the helicopters,” Amanda Morris mentioned.

His excursions of obligation twice took him to Afghanistan and thrice to Iraq, as his household settled on an air base in Italy.

COVID restrictions final 12 months stored the household on base and at house for lengthy durations of time.

As distance studying dragged on, Amanda flew again to Minnesota with the children for some assist ending out the varsity 12 months.

“He was as a result of be again this Could which clearly by no means occurred,” she mentioned.

Earlier than the vaccine was accessible to him, Tech Sergeant Morris examined constructive for COVID on Jan. 4.

He reassured his spouse his signs weren’t critical firstly.

However, as days glided by he acquired worse.

“It solely took two days and he expressed concern and was like, ‘I can’t breathe.’ He wasn’t going to name anyone until it was critical” Amanda Morris mentioned.

READ MORE: COVID-19 In MN: Latest Positivity Rate Nears ‘High Risk’ Threshold

The day earlier than he died, she says her husband requested his physician to go to the hospital just some miles from base.

However, she says as a result of overcrowding he was suggested to remain house.

“If he’s not capable of take a full breath how would they not take him critical,” she mentioned.

On the night of Jan. 12, Michael referred to as for an ambulance. Then, his command to once more clarify his situation.

“He’s on the telephone with work and he passes away from cardiac arrest whereas he’s on the telephone with work,” she mentioned his supervisor would ultimately inform her.

All whereas his household, at the hours of darkness, celebrated his daughter’s fifth birthday, some 7,000 miles away in Minnesota.

Morris died alone.

“It’s been laborious,” his spouse mentioned.

Amanda says her husband’s supervisor instructed her somebody from the bottom went to his home after he made that decision. They tried CPR to avoid wasting him, nevertheless it was too late.

She was instructed it might nonetheless be hours earlier than an ambulance ever got here.

WCCO has been asking Aviano Air Base what precisely occurred on this case. Why Michael Morris was by no means seen by a health care provider, why he by no means went to the hospital and why did it take so lengthy for an ambulance to reach? For weeks our questions have gone unanswered. His spouse made a proper request for data in April and has but to listen to again.

“It’s fairly devastating for us to maintain ready for these solutions,” she mentioned.

Amanda believes medical workers ought to have stored higher observe of her husband.

The one rationalization she’s obtained to this point got here months after Morris died.

An post-mortem she shared with WCCO says “COVID-19 contaminated Morris’s lungs and coronary heart concurrently, however the coronary heart an infection (myocarditis) is what instantly brought on his sudden dying.”

“Clearly, he wanted medical consideration and he didn’t obtain it,” she mentioned. “To serve for 15 years and for this to occur to him like I mentioned simply don’t perceive it.”

Morris’ dying has but to be declared an in-line of obligation dying.

Amanda says that course of might take as much as two years.

Greater than 50 service members have died from COVID-19 because the begin of the pandemic.

MORE NEWS: COVID In MN: MDH Says Recent Numbers Among Highest This Year

The Pentagon says none had been totally vaccinated.



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