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NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) — A Midstate family is grappling with heartbreak over COVID-19.
The virus took two of their grandparents and now an uncle is in the middle of his fight.
“My hope is for a miracle,” Will Baugher, the nephew of Dan Hester said.
Will Baugher is staying strong for his uncle, Dan Hester. He knows his uncle as the man who shows up when anyone is in need.
Now it’s Baugher’s turn to show up.
“As soon as he went to the hospital, they put him on a ventilator pretty much right away,” Baugher said. “The next day they put him on an ecmo machine because his lungs were just not oxygenating his blood.”
The former Brentwood police officer is still on that machine. What’s made it tough is Hester’s parents died from the virus earlier this month.
It’s something he doesn’t know since he’s been heavily sedated.
“It’s just hard to even picture that they’re gone so quickly and then especially on top of that throwing in a situation with Dan,” Baugher said.
Hester’s nephew is raising money through a GoFundMe page.
“Really it’s because of how good a person he is and how much he’s helped everyone that’s ever asked him for anything,” Baugher said.
It’s to help with medical bills he knows will be staggering. He estimates them to add up to at least $100,000.
The page is also to support Hester’s 19-year-old daughter.
Doctors tell the family there is hope.
“The best-case scenario is a really, really long road to recovery,” Baugher said.
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