FRANKLIN — A Racine man's family speaks out, hoping to warn others after 35-year-old Adam Biddle died of COVID-19 without any underlying health conditions.
"This isn't a joke. This is real life. My brother is gone, and I will never have him back because of this," said Cindy Biddle holding back tears as she talks about her brother Adam.
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Adam Biddle was the oldest of the Biddle family. The kind of man his little sister said she was privileged to have in her life.
"Adam was my only brother, my big brother. It was the two of us against the world for a long time," said his sister Cindy Biddle.
"He was a person with a kind heart. People were attracted to him just because of that," said his mom Colleen Kane.
Adam Biddle was a Racine native who worked at his family's business R and B Grinding. His family said Adam always wanted to put smiles on people's faces including on his wedding day. He just got married last summer.
"His big surprise was he had Elvis officiate his wedding," said Cindy Biddle.
"And didn't tell anybody," said Colleen. "That's the kind of jokester he was. I don't even think his wife knew."
Just a few weeks ago, on March 20, everything changed. Adam called his mom, a nurse, and told her he had COVID-19. They are not sure where he got it. But with no underlying health conditions, doctors first told him he could recover at home.
"Adam didn't have a past medical history. The only thing that would have put him at risk was that he was a big guy. He was overweight like many of us are," said Colleen.
About a week into his illness, Adam started having trouble breathing. His family took him to Ascension Franklin, where he was admitted. The family said doctors and nurses tried every option available to save him, including the malaria medication hydroxychloroquine.
"He was one of the few privileged patients that receive the antibody transfusion, but unfortunately, it did not have the effects we had hoped that it would," said Colleen.
On April 11th Adam passed away.
"The nurses at the hospital were fantastic. They arranged a way for us to call when they were in his room so they could pick up the phone and put it next to his ear so we could talk to him while he was unconscious," said Cindy Biddle. "Knowing the only thing I could do was sit in the parking lot and look in his window."
The family said while Adam was in the hospital, he needed multiple blood transfusions. They are encouraging people to donate blood to help other COVID-19 patients.