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- Bride-to-be Samantha Wendell, 29, has died after struggling for weeks with a COVID-19 infection.
- She had delayed the vaccination and spent her wedding day on a ventilator.
- Her fiance and family are now using her story to encourage others to get vaccinated.
A Kentucky man who was due to marry his fiancee last month is instead mourning his death after struggling for weeks in hospital with a COVID-19 infection.
Samantha Wendell, 29, spent her planned wedding day on a ventilator. She died on September 10.
Earlier this year, she and her future husband, Correctional Sgt. Austin Eskew, planned their wedding for August 21 at a church in Lisle, Ill., NBC News reported. Wendell’s funeral was held there last weekend.
The couple from Grand Rivers, Ky. Wanted to start a family, which is why Wendell “freaked out a bit” when she heard false claims about the infertility-causing COVID-19 vaccine, Eskew told NBC .
Wendell, a surgical technician, wanted them not to get vaccinated. But when the Delta variant began to spread in the United States, the couple changed their minds and made vaccination appointments in late July, according to NBC.
But it was too late. About a week before they were supposed to get the shot, Wendell fell ill after returning from a bachelorette party, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported. She and Eskew both tested positive for COVID-19, and while Eskew only suffered from a high fever and was able to rest at home, Wendell started to get worse.
She was admitted to hospital on August 9, Eskew told Fox. There, doctors found her oxygen levels to be dangerously low and then diagnosed her with bilateral pneumonia.
Less than a week before the couple’s planned wedding date, Wendell was put on a ventilator. Doctors first told her family she had to survive her battle with the virus, but on September 9 a CT scan revealed overwhelming news – she had irreversible scars on her lungs.
At this point, “there was no chance of her surviving,” Eskew told Fox. Wendell was removed from the resuscitation system the next day and died shortly thereafter.
“The disinformation killed her”
“She didn’t know any strangers, everyone was her friend or they were going to be her friend,” Eskew told the outlet. “She loved her animals and she loved taking care of anyone’s animals.”
“She loved her job, absolutely loved her job. Any minute she could learn something about it, she was ready to try and do whatever she could for her job,” he continued.
The couple met in 2010 during a college orientation at Olivet Nazarene University, a private Christian school, and dated for 10 years, according to their marriage website.
“Misinformation killed her,” wrote Maria Vibrandor Hayes, Wendell’s cousin, in a Facebook post.
“We were supposed to see her walking down the aisle two weeks ago. She was supposed to be on her honeymoon. She was supposed to bring beautiful babies into the world,” the post read.
The unproven claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility has been repeatedly debunked by doctors, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the injections are safe for pregnant, breastfeeding and nursing people. those who are planning to become pregnant.
Wendell’s story prompted others to get vaccinated, Samantha’s mother Jeaneen Wendell said in a comment on one of Vibrandor Hayes’ latest posts.
“Her life meant something. Even though there were only a few getting vaccinated, it meant something,” Jeaneen wrote.
Austin Eskew and Samantha Wendell’s family did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.
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