A statement from the family of the first Mendocino COVID patient to die

MENDOCINO Co., 7/6/20 — The Mendocino Voice was contacted earlier today by the family of George Chadwick Sr., an 80-year-old Mendocino County man who contracted COVID-19 in Mendocino County and died last week in Marin County, at a rehabilitation center. A representative of the family issued a statement, vetted by the family, which can be read below.

Chadwick’s death has not been conclusively found to have resulted from COVID, a formal cause of death has not been declared, and his death has not been listed as COVID related in the official Mendocino County case count. It appears that at the time that he left hospital care in Mendocino and moved to rehabilitation in Marin, that the County’s dashboard stopped listing him as hospitalized and switched him to the recovered column. However, according to this statement he had simply moved on from acute care, to rehabilitation, and never appears to have made a full recover before dying.

The death of a family member due to old age or disease is a private matter, and something that we at TMV do not generally report on. But in this case, public apprehension about the spread and lethality of this disease have made what is usually a private affair, into a subject of public concern, fascination, and rumor. We are thankful to the Chadwick family for coming forward with this statement to clarify matters for the public, while also urging the public to respect their privacy in a time of grief.

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And we extend our condolences.

Here is the statement from the Chadwick family:

As the children and grandchildren of George Chadwick Sr., we would like to make a statement regarding his passing on July 1, 2020.

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Our father and grandfather passed away after a seven-week battle with the effects of COVID-19. In life, George was a strong, hard-working, physically fit 80-year-old veteran, karate instructor who walked several miles a day and was heavily involved in his church. He was well known in the community and loved by many. He was a strong, virile man who loved God, his family, his life, and his country.

There are many questions involving the movement and progression of his battle with COVID-19. We are providing the following timeline of events:

George contracted COVID-19 Sunday May 10, 2020. He began showing symptoms Wednesday May 13 and tested positive May 15. He went into immediate quarantine. His symptoms were monitored by Mendocino County Health Department and initially his stats were good. One week later on May 22, his oxygen saturation began dropping to danger levels and he was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center. One day after his arrival, he was placed in ICU. He would then spend 20 days in ICU at UVMC fighting for his life, before being sent out to Kentfield [in Marin County] for rehabilitation. George was at Kentfield from Wednesday June 10 to his death, Wednesday July 1. From the initial testing to the final day of his life, he did continue to test COVID-19 positive. Though he was a strong man, he never recovered from COVID-19 and spent his last days struggling to breathe.

We understand that there are many questions and we simply do not have all of the answers at this time. As of this date, there has been no formal cause of death provided to us. We appreciate the support we have received from the community in our time of grieving. However, we are a very private family and ask that we be allowed to mourn our loss in peace.