Coronavirus: New York woman played wedding song as her husband died

This New York woman watched her husband die from the other side of the screen, but not before she played him a nostalgic song.

A New York woman has recounted the heartbreaking story of how she FaceTimed her husband while he was dying of coronavirus and played him their wedding song in his final moments.

Maura Lewinger was forced to watch her husband Joe die on the other side of a screen.

It comes as the city of New York is overwhelmed with cases of the deadly virus.

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Mr Lewinger passed away from COVID-19 last weekend, leaving his wife and family behind.

Mrs Lewinger’s husband Joe, 42, died last weekend from complications with coronavirus.

Like other families across the US right now, Mrs Lewinger couldn’t be by her husband’s side as he died, and had to say goodbye over FaceTime.

Joe had no pre-existing conditions and he started out with “mild symptoms” that included a low-grade fever, Mrs Lewinger told CNN on Friday.

It was around St. Patrick’s Day in March that his fever spiked and he started to have issues breathing.

The 42-year-old New York dad had three kids.

They are one of many families affected by the deadly coronavirus.

In the days before Joe’s death, Mrs Lewinger said the two “pretty much spent 24/7 on FaceTime, trying to mediate and calm him, trying not to let him feel alone”.

When doctors told Mrs Lewinger her husband’s breathing was getting worse and that he was on three different blood pressure medications, she requested to speak with him on FaceTime.

“I saw him and I begged him not to leave us and told him we all need him,” Mrs Lewinger said.

The doctors then went back to work trying to help Joe.

During that waiting period, Mrs Lewinger listened to her wedding song on loop just staring into the backyard. Then the doctor called back.

“We have thrown the kitchen sink at him and I’m afraid he doesn’t have more time,” the doctor told Mrs Lewinger.

She told the doctor she needed to FaceTime with her husband again.

“I thanked him for being the most amazing husband, for making me feel cherished and loved every single day,” Mrs Lewinger said she told her husband.

“I played our wedding song for him. And then that was it,” Mrs Lewinger said.

The doctor then rang her back to tell her that Mr Lewinger’s pulse had gone.

The couple on their wedding day.

She said that because of the stay-at-home orders, social distancing and overall isolation that this virus has brought on, the reality of her husband’s death sometimes misses her.

“Right now, not seeing anybody, it sometimes just feels like he’s at work,” she said.

Joe worked at a Catholic High School on Long Island, New York, for 20 years.

He was an assistant principal and coach of the basketball team.

“He always had a listening ear, no matter what you were talking about, Joe was always listening. He always felt like you are the most important person in the room,” Mrs Lewinger said.

Joe leaves behind his wife, three children, a son and two daughters. Mrs Lewinger stressed the importance of abiding by social distancing and staying at home.