An unvaccinated truck driver died of Covid-19. His mother has a message for protesting Canadian truck drivers
David Mitchell, 70, was a veteran trucker before he died Oct. 15, Makins said. She says her son was not vaccinated.
“It’s a horrible thing to see someone die of this disease,” Makins, who lives in a small town in Ontario, told CNN on Tuesday. “I hope (these hauliers) can hear what I have to say and how bad Covid can be and maybe save someone in their family or even themselves.”
The protests stemmed from the “Freedom Convoy” of truckers crossing the country before arriving in Ottawa, paralyzing the capital.
‘Now all my children are gone’
Mitchell was sick in bed for days before being brought to the hospital for the first time, Makins said. He was released after some tests.
“He looked very sick to me,” Makins said. “He was lying in bed in great pain and could not even reach for his cell phone.”
His condition did not improve even a week later. On Sept. 18, he had difficulty breathing and moaned in pain, Makins said. He was readmitted to the hospital and immediately put on a respirator, she said.
Mitchell was given paralytics, which are used to prevent patients from moving while on a respirator. He could not even move his eyes or hands, Makin remembered, in tears.
“I spent many, many days and nights with his kids in the hospital,” Makins said. “I also stayed overnight and was never ever able to get any response from him.”
When the family decided to take him out of the fan, Mitchell died within minutes while his mother and loved ones held his hand.
Makins lost his last surviving child that day.
Mitchell was Makins’ eldest child; she lost her son Bruce in 2020 and her daughter Jane in 2010, both to cancer.
“Now all my children are gone,” she said. “It’s a bit of the wrong way around. It’s not as it should be.”
Mitchell leaves behind two sons, a daughter and five grandchildren.
‘My son was not an anti-vaxxer’
“My son was not an anti-vaxxer, he just claimed he did not have time – and if he was here, he would be sorry he would not,” Makins said. “He knew he was going to get it, but he just did not manage to do it.”
Mitchell worked hard, drove across Canada and slept in his realm. He often took his dog, Bull, on the trip, his mother said.
His roommates called him a legend, Makins said. Mitchell became a truck driver when he was around 19 and still worked at the age of 70 until he became ill, she added.
“He was very sympathetic. Was not very good with the dollar. He used everything (or) gave it away if he could not use it on himself,” Makins said. “He was funny, curious, always had a joke.”
Makins’ entire family was vaccinated, except for Mitchell and one of his sons, she said. Makins has received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and a booster.
Makins said she does not understand why some hauliers refuse the vaccine. The situation begins to “anger” her.
She added: “Freedoms are privileges.”
Makins come from a wide range of hauliers. Her father owned a trucking company. Her brothers and both her sons were all hauliers, she said.
“You never deal with it, you just learn to cope with it,” Makins said of her loss. “I just want to spare other mothers, other families and other friends” for the grief.