Tuesday, April 21, 2020

News 12 at 6 o'clock/NBC at 7

AUGUSTA, GA. (WRDW/WAGT) -- The family of a local nursing student Joshua Bush, who died of coronavirus complications, is speaking for the first time about his life and his love for nursing.

Joshua Bush was only 30-years-old.

USC Aiken's Chancellor told News 12 that he was in the first semester of the nursing school -- and worked part-time in a local healthcare center.

"​I was ​his wife. Nursing was his girlfriend," LaKita Bush, Joshua's wife, said.

Josh was taking that love affair to the next level -- pursuing a bachelor of science in nursing at USC Aiken -- when coronavirus halted that...

"I'm, I'm gonna miss him a lot," LaKita said.

...and cut his dreams and his life, short.

"You don't know how this virus is going to affect you," LaKita said. "Some people have mild symptoms and they recover some people don't."

And LaKita would know, because she lived it.

"I also tested positive," she said.

The difference -- Josh had an underlying health condition, while LaKita did not.

"And you didn't get to even say goodbye?" Meredith Anderson, I-TEAM reporter, asked.

"The very last time that I saw him was at the funeral home," LaKita said.

It's the same, heartbreaking salt in the wounds of families all over the country who are unable to visit loved ones in their final hours.

More than 40,000 other people in the U.S. have had to die alone -- even families where multiple people are fighting it together.

"Initially they tried to diagnose my husband with the flu. And so they sent a prescription for Tamiflu we, I went to pick that up for him, and he seemed to be kind of sorta with his symptoms," LaKita said.

Before that, they thought it was just his allergies.

"For me having it myself I'm gonna tell you guys, it's like a wave," LaKita said. "It's like, you can feel okay like you might want to get up and do something one day. The next day, you may feel like crap. "

Coronavirus is known for attacking the elderly, but LaKita hopes Josh's story and her own battle with it makes younger people think twice.

"We don't know exactly where he may have gotten it from," she said.

She told News 12, that both she and Josh had been taking precautions, especially since he worked part-time at a nursing home. And she says she has been paying attention to News 12 reporting.

"Was he at any of the places that have been positive?" Meredith Anderson asked.

"Not to my knowledge," LaKita replied.

Meanwhile, the good news is, she's now out of quarantine.

"I still officially have not been cleared by my doctor for me to return it to work, but for the most part, I don't have any symptoms and I'm doing ok," she said.

But that's just her health.

Her heart is broken, but her faith is perfectly intact. She says she doesn't feel strong -- but that God is giving her courage and serenity.

"We will see him again. You know, one of these days and that's just how we're dealing with it and going from there," LaKita said, speaking about Josh.

Next month would have been Josh and LaKita's fifth wedding anniversary.

The traditional gift is wood, and USC Aiken says it will honor Josh by planting a tree in front of the School of Nursing.

RELATED | How USC Aiken will honor nursing student lost to coronavirus

A fitting tribute -- to the man who loved his wife and his career.