Young Widows & Widowers Of COVID Finding Support Online: 'To Have To Start Over Is So Scary'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Twin Cities widow who lost her husband to COVID-19 is sharing her message of healing and hope.
Cassidy Schweer is now raising her two girls alone after her husband Matt, who was 35, lost his battle with the virus this past winter.
WCCO shares how the pandemic permanently changed hundreds of families like theirs, and the online community that aims to help.
It is not the start to summer a North Saint Paul family would ever want.
"I'm navigating the challenges on a day to day basis," Cassidy said. "To have to start over is so scary."
A conversation with Cassidy is a reminder of how unfair life and COVID can be.
"We'll drive down Highway 35 and Elliot will look at St. Joe's Hospital and say, 'Hi Daddy.' That's really hard," she said.
It's where Matt went the week before Christmas, only never to come home.
"Some people say you're so strong, and my foundation is my faith. If it wasn't for my faith and Matt introducing me to my faith, I wouldn't be where I am today," she said.
Sadly, too many families across the country are faced with the same circumstances. Pamela Addison of New Jersey launched Young Widows and Widowers of COVID-19 on Facebook.
"I wanted to make sure no young widow would feel alone," Pamela said.
Her husband, a 44-year-old healthcare worker, died a year ago.
"This doesn't care who you are because I lost my healthy, young husband, and my kids lost their dad," Pamela said.
From tackling financial struggles to feelings, the group has grown to more than 600, helping in Pamela's own healing.
For Cassidy, it's been the words Matt wrote 10 minutes before he was intubated that she never wanted to read.
"I love you more than you know. Always have. Always will. Love again. Find someone to take care of you. Travel with the girls and let them experience the world. You've made my life such a fantastic adventure," she reads.
They are words that have helped her find peace on a new more difficult road in life.
