Covid-19 coronavirus: Veteran Michael Wright suffers painful death in US hospital

Michael Wright lay in his bed in the prone position to increase oxygenation while in the ICU at Regions Hospital in St Paul. Photo / Getty Images

A veteran who was pictured struggling to breathe as he battled against Covid-19 has died in a US hospital, his family have sadly announced.

The photo of Michael Wright was taken in November and shows him battling to breathe in the prone position while in the intensive care unit at the Regions Hospital in St Paul, Minnesota. The image, first published by The Star Tribune on November 22, explained Wright's position had improved in recent days, and he was lying on his stomach to increase oxygenation in his blood.

However, his family announced on a GoFundMe page Wright had died from coronavirus on December 8.

Wright was first admitted to the hospital on November 10, according to his daughter-in-law Miranda Carlson.

"He has a history of chronic bronchitis, which of course made him high risk. He had developed pneumonia and eventually his organs began to fail," she wrote on GoFundMe set up to assist the family.

Lynn and Michael Wright were married in 2016. Photo / Facebook

"On December 8th, 2020 — the Lord carried Michael home to heaven. Thankfully, my mom was able to be by his side while the Lord took him home to heaven."

She described him as a "veteran, husband, son, father, bonus father, and grandfather".

"This pain is unlike anything my mom has ever felt," she continued. "On top of grieving a pain so incredibly raw, she faces worries about the expenses that she will now face on her own.

"Michael was only 54 and my mom only 48, they never planned for this, they planned a long beautiful life together."

The couple first met in 2009. Photo / Facebook

The death toll in Minnesota from Covid-19 passed 4400 on Sunday, as health officials reported more than 80 deaths on four of the past five days, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

The state also reported 3439 new cases of Covid-19, taking the total number of reported cases to 378,823. State officials are still anticipating a new wave of cases could be reported, originating from family gatherings over the US Thanksgiving holiday.

In the US, some 16.2 million citizens have been diagnosed with coronavirus. Of those, more than 298,900 have died.