Harbinger Of 21K Plus Deaths: A Year Since NJ’s First COVID Loss – Patch.com

NEW JERSEY – His name was John Brennan. He was a former harness racing trainer who worked for years at New York’s Yonkers Raceway and made a home in Little Ferry. His death, the first COVID-19 death in reported in the Garden State on March 10, 2020, triggered a series of sweeping changes that altered life in New Jersey.

A year later, we are still trying to recover.

Brennan’s death was the harbinger of more than 21,000 deaths that would come in waves over the ensuing 12 months, crashing over New Jersey at every press briefing and update. The numbers were staggering, at one point consistently 300 plus a day. More than 300 lives lost in a 24-hour period. 300 families, friends and colleagues that were changed forever in one day.

But Brennan’s death also triggered public and private schools and also colleges and universities to close in-person instruction in favor of virtual learning.

Predictably, the spread of COVID-19 in New Jersey came from New York City, with its tendrils stretched thick along commuting lines and weakening into wisps the further out you traveled. The densest populations, the ones bordering the city, were hit the hardest. Bergen and Essex County in particular saw signs of strain as infections were outpacing the ability to provide treatment.

Personal protection equipment grew scarce and hospitals started to be overwhelmed. The treatments were iffy at best with a large degree of success relying on keeping critical care patients off of ventilators, which were in short supply.

While COVID symptoms were rare in children, the infections showed no prejudice in how it spread. Patients of all ages were impacted those with preexisting conditions and those without were vulnerable, and dying.

The news on the federal level was that a viable vaccine would be a year away, and with case counts rising and headroom in intensive care units falling New Jersey made some drastic changes to adapt.

Governor Phil Murphy imposed a statewide curfew last March 16 which shut down casinos, movie theaters and gyms and restricted eateries to takeout or delivery only. A few days later, on March 21, Murphy enacted a statewide stay-at-home order requiring all non-essential businesses to be closed indefinitely. This order remained in place until June 9.

During Easter weekend cases, hospitalizations crest in New Jersey. One long-term care facility is cited after crafting a makeshift morgue where more than a dozen bodies were being kept. Read more: It’s Been A Year Since COVID-19 Arrived In NJ: A Look Back

And through all this, New Jersey tried to honor those lost with remembrances both large and small. At the regular COVID-19 briefings, Murphy routinely spoke about people who lost their lives and spoke to those who loved them.

And at Patch we tried to share the final portion of their story with readers.

We brought you into Teaneck’s Holy Name Medical Center for an intimate look at a New Jersey coronavirus patient’s last moments. Included are five jarringly intimate black and white photographs. The man taking the photographs, Jeff Rhode, is the multimedia specialist at Holy Name. The photos and post are a document of the look-behind-the-scenes in a hospital in Bergen County, which was one of the counties hit hardest by New Jersey’s coronavirus outbreak. Read more: Photos Show Holy Name Coronavirus Patient’s Final Moments

But it was far from our only heartbreaking story. When Sue Cranga died at the Ocean Medical Center, her family was left in limbo due to the burgeoning pandemic. Six days after the 76-year-old Brick Township woman died in the emergency room at Ocean Medical Center the family couldn’t begin grieving. That was one of the complications of the early days of the coronavirus: delays in funeral services, loved ones finding out a loved one has died with no opportunity for a last farewell, family members unable to lean on each other for support because of exposure, and a lack of closure that can intensify grief. Read more: Delayed Coronavirus Result Puts Grieving Brick Family In Limbo

In Bridgewater, the pandemic struck one family particularly hard, killing the father and hospitalizing the wife and children. Tony Whalen died from the COVID-19 virus. His wife and two children were hospitalized with the same virus, said Andrew Wong, a close friend of the family. Read more: Bridgewater Dad Dies, Family Hospitalized With Coronavirus

A lifelong Homdel resident and coach was taken by the pandemic at the age of 55. Ed Harris, lost his battle with coronavirus after he was diagnosed a mere three weeks earlier. Harris was incredibly well known in Holmdel, as a local dad, AAU basketball and baseball coach, and as a small-business owner. He owned the local landscaping business Holmdel Farms, which is known for selling Christmas trees in the area. Read more: Holmdel Family Man, Coach Dies Of Coronavirus At Age 55

COVID-19 also robbed the Morristown community of a native son, school district and medical center employee, friend and father as William Darell Johnson died April 18, after a 26 day battle on a ventilator at the age of 43. He was so dedicated to his community that his ex-wife considered him the “unofficial mayor” of Morristown. He left behind his four children; 22-year-old Katelyn, 13-year-old AJ, nine-year-old Emma and four-year-old Maycie. Read more: Morristown Father, ‘Unofficial Mayor,’ Lost To Coronavirus

But Johnson was far from the only young parent lost to the pandemic. As recently as February New Jersey saw a young mother added to the sad remembrances. Joanna Jimenez gave birth to her third son but just days later Jimenez, who became ill with COVID-19 while eight months pregnant, died from complications of the virus. Read more: NJ Mother Gives Birth To 3rd Son, Dies Of COVID-19 Days Later

But these stories are a small fraction of the loss New Jersey experienced over the last year. With the death toll over 21,000 and continuing to climb there are literally dozens of these tales being played out nearly every day.

And on this anniversary, we here at Patch remember. And we encourage you to share your remembrances, tributes and thoughts in our comments below.

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