A single mother of six was who lost her battle with COVID-19 was forced to say goodbye to her family over a walkie-talkie, in an effort to maintain social-distancing measures, BuzzFeed News reports.
Sundee Rutter, a 42-year-old stage 4 breast cancer survivor, sadly succumbed to the novel coronavirus on March 16 in Washington state, ABC affiliate KOMO News reported earlier this month.
However, rather than having her family gathered around her bedside, Rutter's six children, sister, and mother huddled together around a small window looking into her hospital room, as they communicated with her via a walkie-talkie.
Her fourth eldest child, Elijah Ross-Rutter, told Buzzfeed News: "I told her I love her [...] she shouldn’t worry about the kids." He added: "Like, I’m about to lose my best friend and she can’t even hear me."
Per KOMO, Sundee's immune system had been weakened as a result of her yearlong fight with breast cancer. On March 3, Ms Rutter went to Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, the hospital that is believed to be the hospital where the first known case of COVID-19 in the US was detected. She was sent home.
Then, four days later, the doting mom returned to the hospital and was admitted for pneumonia. The following day, she tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was completely isolated.
Related - TODAY host breaks down talking to NFL star about huge donation:Elijah, 20, told Buzzfeed News: "She thought she had the flu, probably. But like, the coronavirus? It was kind of hard for us to understand how she could get it because not that many people had it around here."
Ross-Rutter then recalled how staff would only be able to enter his mom's sealed room while wearing full protective suits. He also said that, at first, his mom was able to text, with his Sundee telling her son that she was "much better" after he asked her how she was doing March 12.
Sadly, however, text messages then turned into emoji-only responses as her condition deteriorated. "She was sending me hearts on the messages but she wasn’t replying," Elijah said.
On March 16, KOMO reports how Rutter’s family were called in by doctors to say their goodbyes. Sandee died later that afternoon.
Rutter raised her six children, aged between 13 to 24, alone after their father died in 2012. She is described as "an absolutely amazing mom" who "instilled only the utmost of values in her children" on the family's GoFundMe page, set up by family friend Carrie Frederickson.
Frederickson is now looking to raise $350,000 for the family, writing that the children, "have been through a lot in the past several years".
On the page, Rutter’s eldest daughter, Alexis, describes her mom as "genuine, selfless, courageous, hard-working, and caring," adding: "She is always the first to lend a helping hand to those in need and has consistently remained positive and resilient through the many curve balls life has thrown her way."
Amazingly, the GoFundMe has already raised $335,645 from over 7,000 wonderful donors.
If you would like to show your support for the family and learn more about their story, visit their GoFundMe HERE.
