On that same holiday, 33 years later, the hospital called to ask Andrea’s permission to take Ralphie off life support. He had been on a ventilator in the ICU for 10 days, the effects of COVID-19 leaving him unable to breathe on his own. The coronavirus continued to ravage his body, riddling him with blood clots that caused multiple strokes and kidney failure that required dialysis. The strokes left him brain dead.
With unwavering hope on a day that symbolizes love, Andrea asked for one more test, to make 1000 percent sure there was no brain activity, stretching her husband’s remaining hours on earth. With her arms wrapped around him, Andrea felt her husband take his last breath as doctors turned off Ralphie’s machines on Feb. 16, 2021. He was just 52 — coincidentally the number on his high school football jersey.
“They allowed me to do it because he was technically past the contagious period,” Andrea explained. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, but there was no way in hell I was going to let him go alone. A part of me died with him that day.”