Woman loses son and fiancé to COVID-19 within 24 hours

TATTNALL COUNTY, Ga (WTOC/Gray News) – A woman is mourning the loss of her son and fiancé after both loved ones tested positive for COVID-19.

Family members told WTOC Brandon Marsh, 18, became sick with COVID-19 just before he would have started his senior year of high school.

“He didn’t even get to wear his class ring,” said Sherry Marsh, Brandon Marsh’s mother. “Didn’t matter who you were. He’d put a smile on your face.”

Sherry Marsh rushed to the hospital to tell her son she loved him before he went into surgery after his lung collapsed, but the 18-year-old went into cardiac arrest.

Brandon Marsh died in the hospital Aug. 7

Less than 24 hours later, Sherry Marsh’s fiancé, Jackie, also died from COVID-19.

“I remember him kissing me on the back of my neck and telling me don’t get this. You got to stay strong for all of us,” Sherry Marsh recalled. “And next thing I know, he’s waking me up at a quarter to 5 telling me he can’t breathe.”

Sherry Marsh says her fiancé's health quickly declined after getting a blood clot, and she tried to save him using CPR.

She also was diagnosed with COVID-19 a few days later.

Neither Brandon Marsh nor Jackie had gotten the COVID-19 vaccine. Sherry Marsh said she received her first dose on Aug. 1 and regrets not getting vaccinated sooner.

“We were big hypocrites about it, so it’s biting me in the butt now. It’s biting me in the butt big time,” she said.

She wants people to take this seriously and not let it hit so close to home. She says this is scary and people need to get vaccinated, so this doesn’t become their reality.

“Get the vaccine. Get it. Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Stay out of public,” Sherry Marsh said. “It’s hitting hard, and it’s hitting fast. And it’s different with every single person.”

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