KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A local family blames the pandemic and isolation for the death of their elderly mother.
Karen Klett lives in Atlanta, but her brother and sister live in Kansas City, Missouri, where their elderly mother had been living in a rehab facility until she passed away Tuesday due to complications of pneumonia.
Before the pandemic, Klett said her mother was living in an assisted living facility and was doing great. However, as the year went on, she noticed a significant decline in her health.
"When I saw her I was blown away by what I saw," Klett said. "Her hands were like an infant's, she could not eat, she could not feel her legs."
Klett said her mother was moved to a rehab center and fell and broke her hip. Klett said since she was not able to move, she was confined to her room with no socialization.
Klett said she's only been able to see her mother a few times in-person this year.
"It's just really sad that it had to happen this way," Klett said. "It's not just my mom, it's happening all over."
As she mourns the loss her mother, Klett said she feels for other families going through the same thing.
"These elderly people have made their contribution. They have raised families, they've contributed in business, they've served in the military, so who are we to just push them aside," Klett said. "Then the most important thing to them at the end of their lives is their family, and these people are dying alone."
Klett said she's working on planning a funeral for her mother, but she's not sure what it will look like considering gathering limits in the city.
