Mother has dire message after she loses son to COVID-19

NEW CARROLTON, Md. - They thought it was just another cold. 

“You know he had the runny nose and the cough and things of that nature and hard of breathing,” says Tracy Reynolds. 

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Her 27-year-old son, Ryan Isaiah Reynolds, was beginning a perilous fight. Over-the-counter medicines were rendered useless against his new sickness. He began to cough up blood.

Ryan drove himself to Bowie Health Center when his conditioned worsened. A COVID-19 test confirmed his symptoms—he was positive.

The hospital sent him home with medication and told him to quarantine.

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“Keep his temperature down. That’s what I was trying to do. I was an around the clock caretaker for him at that time,” says Reynlds.

Thursday morning, when his conditions were grave, Tracy begged her son to go back to Bowie Health Center.

“He said to me, ‘Mom, I don’t want to go back to the hospital because I don’t want to be there. I don’t want to be alone. I want to be with you. And I said no I prefer you to be there because I’d rather have you forever than just this moment,” says Reynolds.

Tracy went into her son's bedroom the next morning only to find him unresponsive.

Ryan died Friday morning.

Tracy says her pain is endless, but her message is crucial.

“I just want everybody to know to be careful. Actually listen. Stop acting like it’s okay to go outside. Stop acting like it is not real because it’s real,” she says.