Pennsylvania Man Loses Father, Son Within 36 Hours To COVID-19
A restaurant owner in Pennsylvania is mourning the recent loss of both his father and son to COVID-19.
According to CNN, Alan Collins Jr. has had the support of his community after his father, Alan Collins Sr., died on September 28 at a Pittsburgh hospital, and his son, Alan David Brown Sr., died the next day.
Collins said his son, who also lived in the Pittsburgh area, was only 35 and married with four kids.
"He had a lot to live for, believe me, he was a great kid. He did so much for the public," Collins said. "He's a good man. A very, very good father."
Collins says his father and son do not live together and just happened to get sick at the same time. He added that his father loved to fish and hunt and would go to casinos because “he loved to gamble, too.”
"He was a good man and he was very loved also," Collins told CNN. "Anybody who came in contact with he loved him. I'm still getting texts from people that he worked with and people that knew him over the years."
Collins noted that his father had been vaccinated and recently got his third shot, but he had also recently had a kidney transplant, which he said may have left him more vulnerable.
The tragic loss was compounded after Collins left the hospital following his father’s passing. He says he’d just gotten home when he got a call from his daughter-in-law who said she was taking his son to the hospital.
Collins says Brown had not been vaccinated and had to go on a ventilator. He died the next day.
Brown was popular and active in the community and was like a big brother to all his cousins, according to Collins.
"He was doing big, great things," Collins said.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to pay for Brown’s funeral expenses and to assist in caring for his family. Collins says the support he’s gotten from the community has been overwhelming.
"My heart is so full of love and joy from all these people that are given their support to me and my family right now," he said.
Collins’ restaurant will be closed while his family prepares for the funerals.
