Cancer patient who feared she was a ‘sitting duck’ for coronavirus is killed by Covid-19

Susan Jack worried her double lung transplant and colon cancer made her vulnerable to the killer virus, with her fears tragically proven to be well-founded

A frail grandmother who was convinced she’d get coronavirus after being diagnosed with colon cancer and having a double-lung transplant has died of Covid-19.

Susan Jack, 69, died in Edina, Minnesota, earlier today, a week after she was diagnosed with the virus she warned she was vulnerable to. Her devastated family said ‘She fought so hard to the end.’

Speaking before Susan’s death, her daughter Cassie Bonstrom said: ‘You hear so much how everyone’s going to get it, or likely to get it, but my mom’s always known and she said before, a couple weeks ago, she said I’m a sitting duck.

‘If this comes to us, she says I know I likely would get it and not be able to survive it.’

Susan herself shared her fears on her Facebook page, writing in one post late February: ‘As one of those who is “elderly” with “underlying medical conditions,” the corona virus is particularly worrisome…’

In another post on March 19, she commented on how a pre-op surgery had made her cancer ‘seem very real’, and said it was ‘surreal’ to be treated for the illness during the ongoing pandemic.

Heartbreakingly, Susan’s fears came true when she began to feel ill the weekend before last.

She complained of a shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and a high fever – all symptoms of Covid-19.

Cassie, who is pregnant, and Susan’s wife Kim brought her to their local hospital, where she was immediately treated as a potential coronavirus patient.

Cassie said: ‘And they came out in full protective gear and whisked her away. And her wife, my stepmom, said goodbye and we sent her off.’

Tragically, Susan died before she could meet her unborn grandchild, with Cassie now fearful she may have to be quarantined away from her newborn for weeks if she ends up being diagnosed with Covid-19.

The grieving former journalist told KARE: ‘My doctor, who’s amazing and willing to sacrifice herself here for her patients, she says we’ll do what we need to do and we’ll get that baby out safely.’

Cassie has been refused a test, because she does not have any symptoms, but hopes that she will be able to have one, and welcome her baby into the world like any other mother if she tests negative.

But OBGYN Doctor Kellie Stecher has said that even if Cassie does have Covid-19, she and her newborn will likely be fine.

Dr Stecher explained: ‘The pregnant patients that we are seeing with it are doing very well. Whenever someone is pregnant and has any sort of virus or illness, we worry about transmission from mom to baby. And at this time we’re not seeing that vertical transmission or transmission from mom to baby.’