Kentucky man dying of COVID-19 vowed he’d never go out without a mask again, brother says
A Grayson man battling coronavirus told his siblings in his last text to them that if he recovered, he would “never leave home without wearing a mask again.”
Robert Patrick “Rob” Perry didn’t get that chance, said his brother, Chris Perry.
Chris Perry stood alongside his brother’s daughter Destiny on Monday at a wreath ceremony at the state Capitol as he recounted the story of his brother’s last days.
Gov. Andy Beshear hosted the ceremony to mark the passing of more than 2,000 Kentuckians as a result of the pandemic. As of Wednesday, the deaths of 2,118 Kentuckians have been attributed to the virus.
Chris Perry said his brother was 56 years old, an avid Cincinnati Reds fan and a devout Christian.
“Rob loved to spread the word, to preach the gospel wherever he could, whether it was a small country church or a nursing home. He loved to see people turn their life over to God,” Chris Perry said. “However, my brother was also one of those that believed that COVID would not come to Carter County, that it was a virus that we would not see.”
He said the family pleaded with Rob Perry to wear a mask when he went out in public, but Perry didn’t think it was necessary, though he was particularly vulnerable to the virus because of COPD and other health issues.
Chris Perry said his brother contacted him on a Sunday in early August to tell him he had tested positive for COVID-19.
At that point, he said, Rob Perry was “having a hard time breathing, having a hard time speaking.”
The following Wednesday, he was taken to Kings Daughters Medical Center in Ashland.
Chris Perry said that in his brother’s last text, “He said, ‘If the Lord allows me to get through this, I’ll never leave home without wearing a mask again.’
“It took that trip to the hospital and what he was going through to finally realize that COVID is real. It’s not some made-up virus. It’s not some political ploy. It is real, and it took our brother.”
Perry said his brother died after being transferred to the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital. An obituary said he died Aug. 11.
“It’s nothing harder than watching your 80-year-old mother talk to her son for the last time on FaceTime,” he said. “’Cause she was not able to go see him. ... She did not think that that would be the last time she would talk to him.”
“It’s been hard for our family,” Chris Perry said. “It’s been hard to see social media posts about how it’s the China virus, or it’s fake or blah, blah, blah. ... You don’t realize when you’re making posts like that how you’re ripping at the heartstrings of those that’s lost someone.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 6:21 PM.
