Jacksonville man mourns family loss

‘I’m all alone,’ he said of virus’s toll

Adrian Hummel was supposed to celebrate his granddaughter's fourth birthday when covid-19 swept through the household.

A pink banner reading "Happy Birthday" and decorated with images of Elsa from the movie "Frozen" still hangs in the living room at his Jacksonville home, where Adrian sat last week sorting through various items, deciding what to keep and what to get rid of now that he lives alone.

Adrian, his wife, Pamela Hummel, and her daughter, Judy Stofferhan, all contracted covid-19 in January. All three were hospitalized with the illness. Pamela, 60, died Feb. 7 and Judy, 36, died Feb. 12.

"I'm the only one left here in Arkansas," Adrian said. "I'm all alone."

Judy's daughter, Sophia, now lives with other family members, and Adrian, 59, says he calls the girl nearly every day. He considers Judy his daughter. The first time they met, she wrapped him in a hug and said "Welcome to our family, Dad."

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He and Pamela met online, on a now-defunct dating site, in early 2007. The first time they spoke, they talked for two hours. As they were getting to know each other, his father had a stroke.

When he called Pam to tell her that doctors said his dad didn't have long to live, she said she would be on the next Greyhound bus from her home in Pennsylvania to Arkansas. He greeted her with purple irises and a teddy bear.

His father died soon after she arrived, and the two have been together ever since. They married in a small ceremony after church in November 2007.

Adrian says he was drawn to Pam's honesty. The two also had a lot in common -- a love of cooking and a preference for blue cheese dressing. Pam worked at a Burger King for years, some of that time as a manager.

"We were just matching more and more," he said.

Judy lived with the couple off and on throughout the years. Adrian recalls 2016 as their best year together because, after years of struggling, Pam helped him finally access his veterans benefits. That was also the year Judy got pregnant with Sophia.

Adrian remembers down to the minute the night the baby was born -- at 2:46 a.m. after a long labor. Pam went to be with Judy and called Adrian with the good news.

Judy had taken online classes to get her undergraduate degree in psychology. When Judy graduated, the family set up a ceremony for her in the backyard.

"Judy was a smart young lady," Adrian said. "She knew I really cared about her a lot."

The family of four were all living together in Jacksonville when they contracted covid-19. Judy started complaining first of a headache. As her illness progressed, she started having trouble breathing and was hospitalized in late January.

Soon after, Pam's symptoms progressed. She was "out of it" and could barely stand, so she asked Adrian to call 911. An ambulance took her to the hospital.

Adrian was the next one hospitalized. When he arrived, he asked to see his wife and daughter. He spent about 45 minutes in each of their rooms during that first visit, "just talking, like everything was normal."

He saw Pam again shortly before her death. Judy died just a few days after her mother.

Adrian was hospitalized for 14 days, released, relapsed and had to go back. He spent several days in a rehabilitation facility and still doesn't feel well. He's grieving his family while recovering from long-term effects of the illness that killed them.

He's lost nearly 40 pounds over the past few months and doesn't have a sense of taste. He misses human connection, sharing his life with someone.

He got his vaccine and felt relieved, but only partially, he said.

"Why couldn't they have had it just a little sooner?" he said. "My family might still be alive."

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