KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The number of deaths from COVID-19 are breaking records nationally as the virus continues to spread.
According to 41 Action News' COVID-19 tracker, there are more than 135,000 cases with more than 1,500 deaths in the Kansas City area alone.
Those deaths are impacting many families in the metro, including Johanna Wilson's.
She lost her husband, Dennis, at the beginning of the pandemic.
She described him as "the sweetest guy you'd ever know, kind and gentle."
His death came three months before their 50th wedding anniversary.
"We were looking so forward to having a party and celebrating our 50th and that just didn't get to happen," Wilson said.
Shane Windmeyer lost his mother, Diann Hill, to the virus three days before Christmas.
"There was no Christmas really this year there was no New Years," he said.
Windmeyer said his mother had an outgoing personality and loved to go shopping and dancing. They had a tight bond.
"I never realized how special that relationship was until it wasn’t there so I really miss her," Windmeyer said.
Dennis Wilson and Hall are part of the roughly 360,000 deaths nationally in the U.S.
Health officials in Kansas City warn the public to follow safety protocols even with as the vaccine rolls out, since the general public won't have access to it for months.
"Now more than ever we have to be incredibly vigilant, maintain wearing our masks, maintaining our social distancing, not gathering we are so close to a finish line here," said Jodi Fincher, CEO of St. Joseph Medical Center. "This is not the time for us to let up. We really have to lean into that finish line," .
With the end of the pandemic possibly in sight, these families don't want others to endure the pain of losing a loved one like they did.
"Don't let anymore cases like this happen to people," Wilson said. "I don’t at all wish this on my worst enemy."
