Kelly Brown's 74-year-old father got sick first with COVID-19, followed by her 71-year-old mom just two days later. John and Judy Trzebiatowski died of the illness just a week apart last August, sending Brown into a black tunnel of grief that doesn't seem to have an end.
Health restrictions stripped away the things that normally help people deal with death, such as bedside visits at the Wisconsin hospital where they were treated and a big funeral with hugs and tears, she said. That left Brown to deal with her sorrow on her own, and now she's having a hard time seeing a way forward.
With more than 605,000 dead of COVID-19 in the United States and nearly 4 million worldwide, Brown is among the thousands or more who could be experiencing prolonged grief, the kind of mourning that experts say can prevent people from moving beyond a death and functioning normally again.
"It's the most horrible thing to have to go through," said Brown. "I would not wish this upon anyone."
Natalia Skritskaya, an expert on grieving, said it's too early to say whether prolonged grieving, also known as complicated grief, will be a major complication from the pandemic -- it isn't yet over, with thousands still dying daily worldwide, including hundreds in the United States. Many mourners have yet to pass the one-year anniversary of a loss, and few studies have been published so far on the psychiatric fallout, she said.
But prolonged grief is both real and potentially debilitating, said Skritskaya, a research scientist and clinical psychologist with the Center for Complicated Grief at Columbia University in New York. She noted that it can be treated with therapy in which participants talk through their experience and feelings.
"The core of it is kind of helping people face the reality of what happened," she said. "It's not an easy treatment. It's intense."
Jerri Vance said therapy has helped her deal with grief since her husband, James Vance, a retired police officer in Bluefield, West Virginia, died of COVID-19 on New Year's Day, but she worries about their two young daughters.
"Seeing my kids' grief adds to my pain," she said. "One of my kids isn't making much progress in therapy because her daddy was her person. She is still mad at the world."
A study published in the fall predicted a likely increase in cases of prolonged grief linked to the pandemic. Already, people who lost loved ones to COVID-19 are filling social media pages with stories of tears and sadness that just won't go away.
Many cite the loss of typical end-of-life rituals for their continual grieving; some struggle because of the unexpectedness and seeming unfairness of the coronavirus. The politicization of the pandemic is a thorn for many who constantly see and hear some argue against what health experts say are life-saving practices including vaccinations, mask wearing and social distancing.
"In my office I listen all day to unsolicited opinions and try not to engage, as it is unprofessional," said Betsy Utnick, whose father, Sheldon Polan of Selden, New York, died in April 2020. She said she still cries every day because the grief has yet to subside.
Noreen Wasti knows the feeling. She lost her father to the illness caused by the coronavirus on Dec. 27 and is having a hard time going on.
Wasti, who writes and creates online content in New York, said she's unsure what it will take to get over the loss of Salman Wasti, 76, a retired biology professor from Glocester, Rhode Island.
"This has been the first time I've lost someone so dear to me, so I never had a map for grief nor really understood the magnitude. I always thought you're sad for a few months and then you're OK. I was so wrong," she said. "It hits in waves and those waves feel as severe as the day we lost him."
With so many people hurting and little personal interaction for months because of pandemic health restrictions, social media has become the place where many connect to share stories of loved ones and loss. One private Facebook page dealing with COVID-19 losses has more than 10,000 members, and continuing grief is a constant thread of discussion.
Rabia Khan has found solace online since the death on Thanksgiving Day of her father, Pakistani activist Muhammad Hameedullah Khan of Chicago. In survivor and family groups, she said, the grieving don't face insensitive questions about how a loved one contracted the virus or why someone wasn't careful enough to avoid it.
Aside from sharing stories online of her late boyfriend Ben Schaeffer, a New York subway conductor and historian, Lisa Smid has tried to redirect her anguish into something positive. She sponsored an online lecture at the New York Transit Museum and plans to honor his legacy by endowing more memorial lectures.
"I like being able to have an event to look forward to at which I'll have an acceptable outlet for my grief as I move forward with my own life," she said.
Ann Haas of St. Paul, Minnesota, is still trying to find some sort of outlet as she mourns, but work keeps bringing her back to the worst day of her life.
Haas lost her father, Raymond Haas, to COVID-19 on Nov. 11 and works in the laundry at the same Veterans Affairs hospital where he spent his final days. Haas said memories coming flooding back each time she folds a tan blanket like the one that covered him while he was fighting to live.
"`I wish other people could see what this does to people. I hear people saying, `This isn't real, it's nothing,"' Haas said between sobs. "I've got nothing left. I don't know if it's going to take them losing someone to understand."
A Quebec mother of six, once detained in northeast Syria, has died while waiting for repatriation. The Canadian woman was known only by her initials F.J.
The federal government allowed 30-year mortgage amortizations for first-time homebuyers purchasing new builds in August, and the new rules are set to expand in December to everyone looking to buy a newly-constructed home.
A former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model鈥痠s alleging鈥痶hat former President Donald Trump groped her in the 1990s, in what she believes was an attempt to show off for Jeffrey鈥疎pstein.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada's long-held consensus on immigration is under threat, but has not disappeared.
In the final part of a four-part investigation into the seedy underbelly of the lucrative clothing donation bin industry, CTV W5's Jon Woodward and Joseph Loiero look at how some cities are trying to rein in the chaos.
In early 2018, Amanda and Sunil started chatting, messaging back and forth on Instagram, introducing themselves and talking a little about their lives. Fast forward to August 2018, the couple got engaged on vacation in Thailand and a year later, after Amanda moved to India, got married.
Most people have accumulated a pile of data -- selfies, emails, videos and more -- on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
If Canadians could vote in the U.S. election, a majority would choose to send Kamala Harris to the White House.
U.S. authorities earlier this year knew the whereabouts of a former Canadian Olympian who is now on the run for allegedly running a transnational drug trafficking ring and orchestrating murders in Ontario, according to Ontario court documents.
An infant has died and a woman is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after they were pulled from a burning home in the city's west end overnight.
Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the Villeray鈥擲aint-Michel鈥擯arc-Extension borough.
Voting officials say recounts in two ridings that could determine the outcome of British Columbia's election won't start until Sunday afternoon 鈥 and it won't be until Monday before the makeup of the legislature is finalized.
The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.
U.S. authorities earlier this year knew the whereabouts of a former Canadian Olympian who is now on the run for allegedly running a transnational drug trafficking ring and orchestrating murders in Ontario, according to Ontario court documents.
If Canadians could vote in the U.S. election, a majority would choose to send Kamala Harris to the White House.
Israeli strikes killed 36 people, many of them children, in Gaza and three journalists in Lebanon on Friday, as worries grew about supply shortages in Gaza and international pressure for a ceasefire mounted.
As the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor sought war crimes charges this year against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over actions in Gaza, he was engulfed in a very different personal crisis playing out behind the scenes.
Tropical Storm Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 82 people dead in landslides and extensive flooding that forced authorities to scramble for more rescue boats to save thousands of terrified people, who were trapped, some on their roofs.
North Korean troops are poised to be deployed by Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine as early as this weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Friday.
A former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model鈥痠s alleging鈥痶hat former President Donald Trump groped her in the 1990s, in what she believes was an attempt to show off for Jeffrey鈥疎pstein.
A Los Angeles prosecutor said on Thursday he would ask a judge to release Erik and Lyle Menendez on parole after nearly 35 years in prison for the shotgun murder of their parents, as new evidence emerged indicating they were sexually abused by their father for years.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada's long-held consensus on immigration is under threat, but has not disappeared.
A Quebec mother of six, once detained in northeast Syria, has died while waiting for repatriation. The Canadian woman was known only by her initials F.J.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces growing pressure from within his own caucus to step aside, former B.C. premier Christy Clark says she is open to returning to politics.
Quebec's health department says it will be ready to meet the expected demand for advanced applications for medical assistance in dying when it begins accepting those requests next week.
A Colorado man has filed the first lawsuit against McDonald鈥檚 relating to its E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounders that, so far, has led to at least 49 illnesses across 10 states, including one death.
Radon is a radioactive gas found in nearly every Canadian home. A new research study is putting a renewed spotlight on the invisible, odourless element that is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in Canada.
Most people have accumulated a pile of data -- selfies, emails, videos and more -- on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
London Ont. born astronaut and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen spoke with thousands of high school students across the country today about the upcoming Artemis II mission.
Diverse firefly species lit up the night during the late Mesozoic period, scientists have confirmed.
A new organization that aims to help people struggling with addiction officially launched in Ottawa Thursday, named after the late Matthew Perry.
Argentina's police raided the Buenos Aires hotel where ex-One Direction singer Liam Payne stayed before dying last week after falling from a third-floor balcony, a government official said Thursday.
From apparitions to zombies, this season offers up a variety of scary movies, and film critic Richard Crouse has put together a list to help you find the perfect horror movie to watch on Halloween.
Natural gas producers in Western Canada have white-knuckled it through months of depressed prices, with the expectation that their fortunes will improve when LNG Canada comes online in the middle of next year.
Iceland鈥檚 economy is outperforming most European peers after the nationwide introduction of a shorter working week with no loss in pay, according to research released Friday.
It's a dream for many Canadians, trying to save up enough money for a down payment on their very first home. That was also the dream for the Esmeralda family, a family of five with two dogs who currently live in a Scarborough apartment building.
In early 2018, Amanda and Sunil started chatting, messaging back and forth on Instagram, introducing themselves and talking a little about their lives. Fast forward to August 2018, the couple got engaged on vacation in Thailand and a year later, after Amanda moved to India, got married.
A Toronto man who only recently checked a Lotto 6/49 lottery ticket he bought back in June is now $2.5 million richer.
Within a year of dating, 31-year-old Siara Rouzer crossed a major relationship milestone. The guy she was seeing was no longer a boyfriend but her partner.
A Sherpa teenager who's won mountaineering celebrity as the youngest person ever to summit the world's 14 highest peaks called for Sherpas to be recognized as athletes and expedition leaders as well as porters and guides.
Broadway vs. Hollywood has produced the starriest Series in decades, if not ever.
The parent company of WWE and UFC is buying Professional Bull Riders, On Location, and IMG from Endeavor Group in an all-stock deal valued at US$3.25 billion.
A town in southern Alberta will be one of the first to let golf carts be driven on select roads as part of a provincial pilot program.
An increased risk of fire has prompted the recall of thousands of Honda hybrid vehicles in Canada.
A senior executive for Volkswagen in China has been deported for allegedly using cocaine and marijuana while on vacation in Thailand, according to Chinese authorities and German media reports.
A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.
Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Bear Grease is an all-Indigenous production that blends the 1978 original hit with adding cultural elements through fashion, music and humour. The musical blends 1950s sound with traditional drumming, flute and hip-hop elements.
With the final results of the B.C. election still pending, speculation is rampant about what concessions the Greens might ask for to prop up a potential NDP minority 鈥 and it could be a common philosophy about health care that ultimately helps forge an alliance.
Crews removed approximately 50 tonnes of "fatbergs" from the sewer system in Richmond, B.C., earlier this month, according to Metro Vancouver.
An infant has died and a woman is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after they were pulled from a burning home in the city's west end overnight.
The federal government allowed 30-year mortgage amortizations for first-time homebuyers purchasing new builds in August, and the new rules are set to expand in December to everyone looking to buy a newly-constructed home.
A driver who crashed his car into a Midtown Toronto Tim Hortons early Friday morning suffered minor injuries, paramedics say.
An animal rights group is calling on the Calgary Humane Society and Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to launch investigations into a semi-truck crash in Calgary on Tuesday that left 17 cows dead.
The Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Campaign is launching Oct. 25, aiming to raise money to support Canada鈥檚 veterans and their families.
The Village of Morrin, north of Drumheller, is having an underground issue with some of its vacant lots.
Hundreds of OC Transpo bus trips have been cancelled this week due to a 鈥渄ecrease in fleet availability and increased congestion鈥 on Ottawa鈥檚 roads, according to the transit service.
The Ottawa Police Service has identified the woman who was stabbed to death at Paul Landry Park on Uplands Drive Thursday morning.
An unusual item was found parked at the bottom of the historic Rideau Canal as Parks Canada drained the water this week 鈥 electric scooters.
Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the Villeray鈥擲aint-Michel鈥擯arc-Extension borough.
A new tree-planting pilot project in Plateau-Mont-Royal is drawing criticism for eliminating parking spaces in a borough already facing limited parking, as well as for its cost.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and on Thursday the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation held a brunch in downtown Montreal featuring a special guest: Mathew Knowles.
Some Edmonton public school support staff walked off the job Thursday morning, after the province stepped in on Wednesday to prevent strike action.
The man who cut up the body of his grandson's mother is going to prison after the Alberta Court of Appeal overturned his previous sentence.
The City of Edmonton says staying proactive has helped keep its 90,000 elm trees relatively untouched by the devastating Dutch elm disease (DED).
The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.
Gas prices dropped slightly in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick overnight, while there was no change on Prince Edward Island for the second week in a row.
WorkSafeNB is investigating after a man was killed in a workplace incident at a tire shop in Moncton, N.B., last week.
The Manitoba man who brutally murdered his partner and two young children stood in court, voice wavering, and apologized for his actions that ended the lives of three people he said he loved very much.
A pair of councillors in the RM of Springfield plan on bringing forward a motion to opt out of Plan 20-50 when they are first able to.
A Winnipeg teenager has been charged with multiple offences after a stolen car crashed in St. Boniface Thursday morning.
After two days of advance polls, more than 119,000 people have already cast a ballot in-person for the 2024 Saskatchewan election.
A man is dead and two other people were injured in a two vehicle collision north of Regina on Wednesday evening.
Regina police says a reward of up to $50,000 is available for information that leads to the arrest of Daniel 'Juma' Drie Atem, who officers say is responsible for a murder that occurred downtown in the summer of 2023.
Fire crews responded to a house fire in St. Clements Thursday night.
Erick Buhr, the man on trial for second-degree murder in the death of his grandmother Viola Erb, took the stand Thursday to testify in his own defense.
A Kitchener man has been charged with arson after playground equipment was set on fire earlier this week.
The Saskatchewan RCMP is calling off its dangerous persons alert after two people were arrested in the Tobin Lake area Thursday afternoon.
A former tire recycling company in Saskatoon is announcing additional layoffs months after a dispute with the provincial government.
Saskatoon police are investigating a series of suspicious fires that were lit in the Mayfair neighbourhood on Thursday morning.
The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.
In the final part of a four-part investigation into the seedy underbelly of the lucrative clothing donation bin industry, CTV W5's Jon Woodward and Joseph Loiero look at how some cities are trying to rein in the chaos.
The Gathering Place board chair Peter Gregory is vowing to fight to keep the doors to the Cassells Street soup kitchen open after the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board denied their six-figure funding request.
London police are asking for the public鈥檚 help identifying a suspect involved in a robbery on Sunday.
Eighteen months after the closure of the London Health Sciences Centre鈥檚 (LHSC) fertility clinic, its replacement is now fully operational.
The London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI) has released findings on their study looking into mood and anxiety disorders in young adults.
The cost of living is increasing, from groceries to gas, prices are consistently going up, and now there鈥檚 controversy surrounding paying for parking at hospitals.
OPP executed a search warrant at a Midland home address.
A haunted house in the Ontario Town of Innisfil is causing a real scare for some people a week before Halloween.
Issues include benefits, wages, working conditions, contracting out/work ownership and getting union representation for staff.
An active investigation is underway in the city.
According to the Ontario Nurses Association, about 84 registered nurses and registered practical nurses reached the collective agreement after two rounds of concilliation.
With the final results of the B.C. election still pending, speculation is rampant about what concessions the Greens might ask for to prop up a potential NDP minority 鈥 and it could be a common philosophy about health care that ultimately helps forge an alliance.
As the RCMP prepare to strap cameras to the chests of front-line police officers, an expert warns they might not work 鈥 at least, not in the way some had hoped.
Mounties on Vancouver Island are investigating after a set of popular driftwood sculptures was reportedly stolen last week.
Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.
Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass deserves a better shot at becoming a significant tourism hub than the UCP government is giving it, an NDP shadow minister said as the southwestern Alberta community gears up for a coal mining plebiscite.
A three-game road trip across the prairies got off on a sour note Wednesday night as the Medicine Hat Tigers defeated the Calgary Hitmen 4-2.
A town in southern Alberta will be one of the first to let golf carts be driven on select roads as part of a provincial pilot program.
A critical piece of the Sault鈥檚 homeless outreach strategy is almost ready to hit the road.
Police seized drugs, $70,000 and a large gold chain in a drug trafficking bust earlier this month in Thunder Bay.
An annual event held in Sault Ste. Marie is back for the 29th year to ensure local kids get the winter clothing they need as the temperature dips.
Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland earlier on the weekend.
Police in western Newfoundland say a 77-year-old man visiting the province from Kansas is missing after a fire at a hotel in Deer Lake, N.L.
At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.
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