Indiana man ended up in hospital wanting everyone to get COVID vaccine
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Less than a month ago, Jeff and Elizabeth completed preparations for their November wedding.
The groomsmen and bridesmaids were selected, registration was suspended, and the first RSVPs poured in. “Wedding invitations are out,” Jeff Lee wrote in a Facebook post on October 6th. “Please answer if you participate.”
But just 17 days later, Lee published another post. “I collapsed last night and was no longer responsive and wasn’t breathing,” he wrote. “… I have just been pronounced positive for COVID.”
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Lee, a 34-year-old reserve officer with the Hope Police Department in eastern Indiana, died of COVID-19 last Thursday. He tested positive for COVID on October 20 after feeling sick for a few days, his fiancée Elizabeth Roller said. He was found unconscious in his home two days later and died in an Indianapolis hospital bed on October 28, nine days before his wedding.
“I’m just shocked,” said Roller about her fiancé’s death. “My whole life is uprooted… I don’t know if I can put it into words. He had so much to live and he knew he was doing it. “
Lee’s death came days before the global coronavirus death toll exceeded 5 million people. And although the number of COVID infections has decreased in the past few weeks, more than 746,000 Americans have died from the virus. Indiana reported 1,940 new COVID cases and 17 deaths last week.
“He touched many people’s lives”
Those who knew Jeff “Boost” Lee associate the man with his love for cars – especially the Toyota Supras.
It’s not uncommon for Lee to approach strangers driving Supras and introduce himself, said his fiancée. Eventually, he likely tried to recruit her for the Indiana Supra Club, a group for like-minded fanatics that Lee led for years.
“It was a gateway for him to talk to people and make friends,” said Roller of her fiancé’s passion for cars. “(He loved) helping people get into the auto community, learn about cars, and just develop compassion for them.”
“He touched many people’s lives.”
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Roller met Lee in October 2018 through a mutual friend. “I played hard,” she said, “and he got me.”
She described her fiancé as “the most amazing person” – kind, generous, level-headed, and a good friend to anyone who needed it. Sometimes, she said, Lee would go to a store and meet people he knew 15 years ago who “thought he was the best person ever.”
And he always had cars in the driveway of his Indianapolis house. If it wasn’t his car, Roller said, it was a friend who was working on a car at his house or just taking a cruise – “whatever guys do,” she said.
“It’s kind of a joke among his friends that he had a different Supra every time they saw him,” she recalled. “He bought one and mixed it up, let it go and got bored and bought a new one.”
“If I wanted to spend time with Jeff, I’d be spending time with cars.”
Rare disease increased risk of COVID
Lee was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy in 2018, a rare kidney disease also known as Berger’s disease. He has since worked repeatedly in the police force due to complications with the disease, his fiancé said, working full-time for AT&T was also difficult.
The kidney problems also put him at a “high risk” of developing complications from COVID, Roller said, and the couple knew that “it would be a problem if he ever contracted COVID”.
“Our fears were unfortunately met,” said Roller, who declined to say whether Lee was vaccinated.
Even so, Lee maintained a positive outlook throughout his health complications. A photo posted on Facebook shows Lee showing his thumb up on a ventilator.
“He was always positive no matter what,” said Roller. “He would deal with the worst of situations and he would find something good about it or find something positive.”
Dozens of friends and others who knew Lee have posted reminders on Facebook since his death.
“You have been my best friends since 6th grade,” wrote one man. “I will cherish our friendship forever and ever.”
“It helped me grow in love with cars that have a different trip down the Shelbyville Strip every weekend,” recalls another. “He chose a courageous path and had a heart of gold.”
Roller launched a GoFundMe last week to help cover Lee’s medical expenses. These funds will now be used for the 34-year-old’s funeral expenses.
“It was completely unexpected,” said Roller. “We’re just trying to understand everything.”
Contact Lawrence Andrea at 317-775-4313 or landrea@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @lawrencegandrea.
