Who Dies
New York magazine|November 09, 2020
COVID took my grandfather. But it wasn’t what killed him.
By Sarah Jones
Who Dies

The author at age 3 with Grandpa Charles.

WE CREMATED MY GRANDFATHER the week I was supposed to get married. The white dress I bought a year ago still hangs in my closet, next to the black dress I brought home with me to Virginia. I’d flown back from New York the first week in September, when he was still alive, when there was still a chance he could stay that way. But we all knew the odds. The black dress was a precaution and a reminder of how badly things had gone awry. I’d bought it when I still thought I would wear it to work in the summer. Then the pandemic happened, and it’s a funeral dress now.

My grandfather died from complications of covid-19. The last time I saw him, I wore gloves and a plastic gown, and put a face shield on over a mask. I stood next to his hospital bed with my family. The doctor warned us not to touch him, but I did, gently, one gloved hand over his. That he should die without touch felt intolerable, a punishment for a man who didn’t deserve one. We reminded him that we loved him. My mother told him that the neighborhood bear had returned, that the farmers’ market had good carrots. Despite our alien look, he recognized us. The virus was bad, he said, but he’d fight it.

He tried. He lingered for several long days until the virus had its way. From the evening I got the call that he was sick until the moment my mother told us that he’d died, he fought. But he was 86 years old, which made him a high-risk covid patient. His health had been declining, gradually, for months. The virus attacked his lungs, and then his heart, with lethal precision. In the end, he was no match for it.

This story is from the November 09, 2020 edition of New York magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 09, 2020 edition of New York magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW YORK MAGAZINEView All
Good One: Ramy Youssef
New York magazine

Good One: Ramy Youssef

The comedian on the first Israel-Palestine joke he wrote after 10/7.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 25 - April 07, 2024
Not Your Average Heartthrob
New York magazine

Not Your Average Heartthrob

Nicholas Galitzine can play himbo, Prince Charming, and Gen-Z queer iconsometimes all at once. Now, he's coming

time-read
8 mins  |
March 25 - April 07, 2024
Northern Mexico, Just Below Canal
New York magazine

Northern Mexico, Just Below Canal

Corima has potential-and excellent tortillas

time-read
3 mins  |
March 25 - April 07, 2024
A Tree House for Two Architects
New York magazine

A Tree House for Two Architects

Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem built the indoor-outdoor \"Mini Tower One\" extension of their Carroll Gardens home.

time-read
1 min  |
March 25 - April 07, 2024
THE ERIC ADAMS SMASH - AND - GRAB
New York magazine

THE ERIC ADAMS SMASH - AND - GRAB

It's a brazenly transactional era of government here in New York City.| FRANK CARONE is its master practitioner.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 25 - April 07, 2024
JEFF ZUCKER'S FLEET STREET MISADVENTURE
New York magazine

JEFF ZUCKER'S FLEET STREET MISADVENTURE

The former CNN and NBC boss wants a new media empire. Is that even possible in 2024?

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 25 - April 07, 2024
MECHANISMS of CONTROL
New York magazine

MECHANISMS of CONTROL

Andrew Huberman has attracted millions of acolytes by preaching self-discipline and healthy lifestyle habits. But those closest to him suggest there is a darker side to his appeal.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 25 - April 07, 2024
Streetscape: Mark Jacobson
New York magazine

Streetscape: Mark Jacobson

Charging Ahead Baruch Herzfeld wants to end the rash of e-bike battery fires.

time-read
5 mins  |
March 25 - April 07, 2024
461 MINUTES WITH...Hanif Abdurraqib
New York magazine

461 MINUTES WITH...Hanif Abdurraqib

The MacArthur-grant winner's unclassifiable new book is as idiosyncratic as the author himself.

time-read
6 mins  |
March 25 - April 07, 2024
Neighborhood News: The 'SNL' Guys' Ferry Isn't Adrift
New York magazine

Neighborhood News: The 'SNL' Guys' Ferry Isn't Adrift

Colin Jost and Pete Davidson's architect has a real plan.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 25 - April 07, 2024