‘She meant a lot to me’: Mother dies from COVID-19 after battling virus with daughter

Both women were hospitalized at Beaumont Royal Oak

DETROIT – A Metro Detroit mother and daughter both battled coronavirus (COVID-19) together.

“My mom was a special lady to me. She meant a lot to me,” Glenda Johnson said.

Johnson and her 83-year-old mother, Linda Hopkins, were both diagnosed with coronavirus.

“My mom and I went to the hospital on March 28. I had no idea I was not going to bring her home,” Johnson said.

Both women were hospitalized at Beaumont Royal Oak. They shared the same room.

“I thought we were going to get better and she was going to be able to make it through this,” Johnson said.

That wasn’t the case. Her mother’s health deteriorated right in front of her eyes. Hopkins died from coronavirus.

“She was not sick. She was in the red-hatter, she played cards three days a week. She was very active in the church. The last couple hours I just sat by the bed and held her and gave her ice and she was very -- it was just so painful to watch her,” Johnson said.

Johnson is disappointed in the way the coronavirus is being handled.

“Detroiters, some of them are not taking it seriously -- and I lost my mother,” Johnson said. “I have no husband, no children, and no brothers and sisters. So, what’s next for me to continue to try and live my life.”

Johnson and Hopkins were frequent travelers. They do not know where they first came into contact with coronavirus.

Johnson would like to thank doctors and staff Beaumont Hospital for being so accommodating.


About the Author:

Victor Williams joined Local 4 News in October of 2019 after working for WOIO in Cleveland, OH, WLOX News in Biloxi, MS, and WBBJ in Jackson, TN. Victor developed a love for journalism after realizing he was a great speaker and writer at an early age.