Respiratory therapist asks family to get vaccinated before dying from COVID-19

A 38-year-old respiratory therapist and veteran from Everett died in July after getting sick with COVID-19. He was not vaccinated, but one of his final wishes was for his family to get the shot.

Michael Hamilton was working as a respiratory therapist in Sunnyside, Washington, and got sick in May. He fought COVID-19 for months but did not survive.

“He leaves behind an 11-year-old and 17-year-old,” said his wife, Lashawna Hamilton. “It gets harder every day instead of easier,” she said.

Michael Hamilton served in the military, was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane and became a respiratory therapist.

“He was a pretty phenomenal human being. One in a million,” Lashawna Hamilton said.

When COVID-19 hit, she said the work got really tough, but her husband volunteered to work extra shifts.

“He was working seven-, 12-hour shifts. So he’d have seven days on and eight off,” she said. They made it through a year and a half. But in May 2021, Michael Hamilton got sick.

“He was intubated. He was losing oxygen,” she said. He was in a medically induced coma for two months, went through five surgeries and was airlifted to a hospital in Portland.

“May turned into June; June turned into July,” Lashawna Hamilton said.

Then his organs started failing.

“So had to make a decision, and he passed away on July 3,” she said. “It’s just so ironic when you think about it.”

Lashawna Hamilton said her husband was not vaccinated.

“That’s something people will always say. Was it because he wasn’t vaccinated?” she said. But she said before he died, her husband changed her mind.

“One of the last things he did tell me was, ‘I want you and Brooklyn (daughter) to get vaccinated,’” she said.

Their son is too young, but she and their daughter got the shot.

“Do I know if the vaccination is going to save me? I don’t know. But if I can try and find a way to not be in my husband’s position, I’ll take the vaccination,” she said.

Now she’s hoping people will take a moment to hear Michael Hamilton’s story and remember him.

“He was 6 feet, 4 inches, 330 lbs. He was a big guy. He was so hilarious, just a funny guy, very sarcastic,” Lashawna Hamilton said.

She describes him as a die-hard Seahawks fan, a veteran, a health care worker and a family man who had a chuckle you won’t forget.

“He definitely lived for us,” Lashawna Hamilton said. “He gave his life being selfless. To me, that’s a hero.”

“Even through some of the ugliest times on this earth, there is still beauty. And that would be my husband,” she added.

Family friends set up a GoFundMe for the family to help pay off Michael Hamilton’s medical expenses. His memorial will be this Saturday.

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