An unvaccinated Michigan man, who owned and operated the Quincy diner in Southern Michigan, died of COVID. John Scott Parney Sr took his last breath at a hospital in Battle Creek on December 14. According to an online fundraiser posted on his behalf, Parney was admitted to the hospital after he contracted the virus earlier in September but was sent home days later.
His condition, however, worsened and relatives found him 'incoherent' and confused in his bed two days later. His stats were alarmingly low and he was immediately placed in isolation and given oxygen. The 62-year-old diner owner's wife, Paula is suffering from colon cancer. According to MLive.com, Parney operated his diner defying lockdown ordered by Michigan's Department of Health in December 2020 to be able to pay his wife's medical bills.
Stating that his wife's fighting colon cancer, Parney said that they depend on the restaurant to help subsidize the medical bills. He also added that if he had closed the diner any longer, he would have lost his business. His diner did receive funds via the government's Paycheck Protection Program designed aimed to keep businesses afloat but apparently, it was 'not enough.' The amount was only a fraction of what the diner could have generated if never forced to close down temporarily.
Parney wasn't vaccinated
Parney had previously served in Marine Corps and worked full-time at FireKeepers Casino and Hotel in Battle Creek. Paula Parney's sister, Heidi Hodshire told MLive.com that Parney was a great man, who supported the armed services. Relatives noted that the father of three wasn't vaccinated. However, the description in the fundraiser stated that Parney had decided to get the vaccine during his battle with COVID. His wife, Paula, continues battling colon cancer, her sister, Heidi told MLive.com Wednesday, December 22.
The identities and the age of the couple's children were not clear at the moment.
According to data by Johns Hopkins University, around 56 percent of Michigan residents are fully vaccinated and a total of 28,345 deaths have been reported in the state from COVID-19 as of Thursday, December 23.
