INDIANAPOLIS — 62-year-old Charles Jones was more than a COVID-19 statistic. He was Clinton Kilgore’s dad.
“He was just a jolly, happy guy that always called me and told me that he was proud of me,” said Kilgore.
Kilgore will never forget the last time his dad called him, a July video call. It would be the last time would hear his dad’s voice.
Jones had been hospitalized with the coronavirus.
“I remember he said it was going to be OK and that he loved me and I kind of knew in the back of my mind that it was going to be the last time I was going to talk to him,” said Kilgore.
After that call, Jones was put on a ventilator.
A few weeks later, Kilgore was able to hold his dad’s hand and tell him goodbye.
“I can’t explain to you what it’s like to see your dad pass away in front of you,” Kilgore said.
He’s trying, though, in a post he sent to a Twitter account called “Faces of COVID.”
A day after Kilgore sent the post, it’s been liked more than a thousand times and received more than 100 comments, including a retweet from journalist Dan Rather.
“I’ve been writing recently and it’s kind of helping me understand where I’m at in the grief process,” Kilgore explained.
Killgore said he's not sure where his dad picked up the virus but said he was high risk.
“He’s the textbook case of COVID. He got it. He was 62 years old. He had diabetes. He had previous cancer and he’s like the demographic for getting targeted by COVID,” said Kilgore.
Now, eight months after his dad’s death, Kilgore, a military veteran, just got his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. It’s bittersweet, as he thinks of his dad.
“It makes me wonder about the different times we could have spent together,” Kilgore said.
And he offered this advice: “Tell your dad you love him,” said Kilgore.