Father of Five Michael Freedy Dies From Medical Malpractice, Media Exploits Death For CV Fear Porn

Father of five told family "I should have gotten the damn vaccine" before death from COVID-19 https://t.co/Ei4FlXiHGh pic.twitter.com/lh6J690tLL

— The Hill (@thehill) July 30, 2021

Father of five told family "I should have gotten the damn vaccine" before death from COVID-19

BY NATALIE PRIEB - 07/30/21 01:04 PM EDT

Michael Freedy, a Las Vegas father of five, died from the coronavirus Thursday after sending his fiancee a text expressing his regret at not getting the COVID-19 vaccine, FOX5 reported.

Jessica DuPreez, Freedy's fiancee, said that he sent her a text while he was in the hospital that said: "I should have gotten the damn vaccine."

"He is only 39. Our babies now don't have a dad," DuPreez said, sharing her story to encourage others to get the vaccine. "You can't say I am young and it won't affect me because it will."

According to a GoFundMe launched by DuPreez, Freedy first went to the hospital after suffering a severe sunburn while on vacation in San Diego. At the hospital, he was tested for COVID-19 and the results came back positive.

Soon after, Freedy's condition deteriorated, and within a few days he was put on a ventilator at the hospital.

One image of a text message conversation shared on GoFundMe shows Freedy saying: "Alright well I tried. They are taking me to ICU."

DuPreez said that she and Freedy had decided to wait a year after the vaccine had been released to the public before receiving it themselves in case people experienced serious side effects. She says it is a decision she regrets and that she and her oldest child have now been vaccinated.

"I just wanted to reach out and thank all of you who have helped us. All who have reached out with a friendly word," DuPreez wrote on the GoFundMe. "The love of my life, my rock, my everything. The father to my babies, is no longer with us. I don’t know what to do."

We went to San Diego July 12 & 13. It was to get the kids out of the heat advisory warning that Vegas had, but also because we actually had two days off in a row together. We went to the beach and to Belmont Park and let the kids ride the rides.



But everyone wound up getting sunburned. Mike got it the worst. He skin turned so red it was almost purple, and he got small water blisters all over.



We went to the zoo the next day and came home.

Mike called in the next day, he was just too burned and couldn’t really move. Then he called in again. We were putting lotions on him and aloe and he was drinking lots of Gatorade. He was getting chills, couldn’t eat, couldn’t get comfortable, couldn’t sleep. All symptoms of sun poisoning. He goes to the Er and tries to get some help/relief. The doctor pretty much dismissed him. So Mike went to work that night. The next day he wasn’t better, so he called in. Then he called in on Sunday. He is showing no signs of getting better, and he’s nauseous. Finally he goes to a different Er on Monday and the test him for covid. He’s positive. They send him home, more or less with a pat on the head and tell him to hydrate, isolate and it’ll be fine. I had to tell my job that he tested positive, they immediately sent me home and told me HR would be in contact with me to let me know the next steps. I went and got tested, I’m negative.

Mike is absolutely miserable. He is beside himself with how much everything hurts and how scared he is. He winds up waking me up at around 3 am to tell me he can’t breathe and is dizzy and when he tries to stand he starts to fall over. I rush him to another Er and they admit him immediately. They tell me I can’t stay. His blood oxygen is at 72, they told him they are surprised he was even able to walk and talk. They do scans on him and find he has pneumonia in both of his lungs. He’s placed on the highest level of oxygen their hospital can do.