A 42-year-old mother of six has died from COVID-19 after surviving an already devastating disease: breast cancer. Sundee Rutter of Marysville, Washington, passed away alone on March 16 because her family wasn't allowed in the room with her when she died. Instead, her kids, mother, and sister gathered outside her hospital room and said their goodbyes through a walkie-talkie.
Rutter became sick with coroanvirus after a year-long battle with cancer.
Rutter had been raising her six children, ages 13 to 24, alone since their father died in 2012, Buzzfeed News reported.
Jessica Harris, Rutter's close friend, said the mother was trying to "get her life back and then, this happened."
Rutter first went to the hospital with symptoms on March 3.
One of her sons, 20-year-old Elijah Ross-Rutter, explained to Buzzfeed News that his mom entered Providence Regional Medical Center in Washington — which happened to be where the first known case of COVID-19 was treated — early in March.
When she was first admitted, Ross-Rutter and his mother spent eight hours in a sealed room, with hospital staff coming and going while wearing full protective suits.
The cancer treatments had left the mom worse for the wear.
According to a GoFundMe page created to raise money for Rutter's family, the mom "didn’t have much left in the way of an immune system."
Ross-Rutter told Buzzfeed that his mom couldn't have suspected that she had the terrible virus that would soon sweep the country.
“She thought she had the flu, probably,” he said. “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.”
At the time, there were only 27 reported cases and nine deaths in Washington state. The threat seemed relatively small compared to the now 1,068 cases and 21 deaths just in Rutter's local area, Snohomish County, as of Monday.
Four days later, the pair would return to the hospital.
On March 7, Rutter was examined by doctors while her son waited patiently in the visitors waiting area. Hours later, Ross-Rutter was told that his mother had pneumonia, and they would need to keep her overnight.
The next day the family was hit with even worse news: Rutter was diagnosed with COVID-19.
At first, Ross-Rutter was allowed to visit his mom with a mask on, but then her doctors completely isolated her. "For a while, she was able to text," he recalled.
Still, the distance wore on him.
“Like, I’m about to lose my best friend, and she can’t even hear me,” he recalled.
On March 12, she texted Ross-Rutter that she was feeling “much better,” but after that message, Rutter only responded with emojis.
“She was sending me hearts on the messages, but she wasn’t replying,” her son said.
On March 16, Rutter's doctors called her family and told them to come to the hospital.
Ross-Rutter and his five siblings gathered in front of a window that allowed them to peer into their mother's hospital room. They shared a walkie-talkie to say their goodbyes, while their mother listened on a receiver propped on her pillow.
“I told her I love her … she shouldn’t worry about the kids,” Ross-Rutter remembered.
His mother died later that day.
After their mother's death, her kids have banded together and are standing by each other through this trying time.
Family friend Carrie Frederickson set up the family's GoFundMe page. "Sundee was an absolutely amazing mom and instilled only the utmost of values in her children. I have never known a group of siblings who stick together and take care of one another as much as these kids do," Frederickson wrote.
Her campaign has since raised nearly $300,000, which will be put toward housing for the Rutter siblings, three of whom are in college and three of whom are in high school and middle school.
Rutter's oldest daughter, Alexis, added this message to the page: "For those of you who know or have ever crossed paths with our mother, Sundee, it was likely made clear to you immediately how genuine, selfless, courageous, hard-working, and caring this woman is. 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."
She continued, "She has made it her highest priority to instill in us all of the amazing and upheld values and morals she possesses, with high hopes that each of us are able to make positive changes and impacts on our friends, family, and community."
