DAVENPORT, Iowa — Marie Brumbaugh was the youngest of four children, and a mother herself. Now, she's become one of the over 220,000 lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her mother, Sue, lives in Davenport. The two were very close.
"She was the life of the party," Sue said. "She'd come into a room and say 'hey, I'm here, the party can start now!' And indeed it did."
Marie was a healthcare worker, who relocated from Iowa to Missouri at the beginning of the pandemic. Even after taking every precaution, she still caught the coronavirus.
She told her mother the day she started having symptoms, and checked into the hospital the next day.
"She had underlying asthma, so she knew she was at a higher risk than the general population," Sue said of her daughter. "But she was young and healthy."
After being admitted to the hospital, Marie's condition rapidly declined. She was put on a ventilator within hours.
All her parents could do was pray as their daughter fought for her life. But they weren't the only ones praying.
"We had hundreds and hundreds of people praying. Different churches, their missionaries, prayer groups; all over the world, people were praying for her," Sue said.
Two-and-a-half weeks later, Sue got the call she'd been dreading. Marie's parents then got in the car and headed to Missouri, hoping to be there for her one last time. They made it in time.
"There came a time when they said she's just not going to make it," Sue said.
"I'm very grateful they allowed the whole family to be with her at the end. We were able to sing with her, tell her how much we loved her... I'd like to think she could hear us. I don't know."
But though her daughter is gone, Sue knows Marie won't be leaving her any time soon.
"Death is a part of life; there's none of us who are guaranteed," Sue said. "Enjoy your family. Say the things you want to say. Because you may not have a chance tomorrow."