'I Loved Her' | Man Mourns Loss Of Wife Who Died From Coronavirus, Resident At Pleasant View Nursing Home
MOUNT AIRY, Md. -- They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but for Gilbert Goff, a picture of his wife Betty leaves him speechless.
Gilbert said he met Betty when he was just 17-years-old and that the two got married one year later.
But as time went on, they grew older, and Betty was diagnosed with dementia and placed in Pleasant View Nursing Home in Mount Airy.
Gilbert said he went to visit her everyday until he had a heart attack on March 18.
Then, on March 28, Betty was transferred to a local hospital and tested positive for coronavirus. Five days later, Gilbert was forced to say goodbye to his wife of 64 years through a glass window.
"She was always good to me," Goff said. "I loved her."
Pleasant View remains the state's hardest hit nursing home with 17 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 100 staff members and residents testing positive.
Rick Mantheiy said his 70-year-old father, Paul, is one of those residents.
He said his dad tested positive on March 28 and is now in the Intensive Care Unit at a local hospital.
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Nurses told Rick his dad is nonverbal and barely responding to any activity around him.
"We're just taking somebody else's word on how he currently is," Mantheiy said. "Which is the scariest part."
He said as the Power of Attorney, he's now forced to make a decision about his dad that, just a few weeks ago, was never on his mind and the hardest part is being miles away in Pennsylvania.
"That's the heartbreaking part, you know, at this point he's probably going to die alone," Mantheiy said.
Rick said his aunt is also at Pleasant View Nursing Home and that she too tested positive.
The Carroll County Health Department said it has brought in additional resources, including the Maryland National Guard, to help the staff and residents at Pleasant View.
Pleasant View said it has also been taking precautionary safety measures to keep its residents and staff safe.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
