{"id":11760,"date":"2021-10-19T20:59:45","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T15:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=11760"},"modified":"2021-10-19T20:59:51","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T15:29:51","slug":"robin-williams-cancer-survivor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=11760","title":{"rendered":"Robin Williams, Cancer Survivor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Robin Williams, Cancer Survivor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At first it was hard to make out the caller’s voice. Her words came slowly with a mechanical gasp in between.\u00a0 “Ma’am, I can’t understand what you’re saying,” I interrupted, annoyed. “I think we have a bad connection.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn’t a bad connection, Robin Williams was gasping for air. She was dying of COVID-19.\u00a0 She had called the WBIR newsroom to share her final words, and a reporter had answered the phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Robin Williams. 64 yrs. Parkwest hospital. Raised in Blount Co. On a BiPAP machine. Ventilator tomorrow. Vaccinated, cancer survivor.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another reporter Eric recorded the message she wanted broadcast:\u00a0“I just want people to know that, even though I took all the precautions, it is still something that needs to be dealt with. It may not have helped me, but I hope it helps somebody else.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He wished her good luck\u2014and hung up.\u00a0 For weeks, that late August phone call was all they knew of Robin Williams. They had her cell phone number\u2014and the number for her son, Chris. A few weeks ago, the reporter called it. Robin was dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her family held a memorial service Saturday. Chris graciously agreed to meet on Sunday and tell the reporter about the woman who shared her final message with a complete stranger on the other end of the phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robin Williams, 64, was born and died in East Tennessee. In the interim, she raised three kids\u2014at times working three jobs to make ends meet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Because of that we really didn’t have to want for anything. She worked real hard,” her son Kenneth Robinson told the reporter.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She faced a long battle with various medical issues. Her first bout of cancer came at 28 and she faced the disease three more times in later life. In 2005, she had a stroke. A chair lift along the interior stairs of her Farragut home betrayed a decline in mobility.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Robin also had spunk; she wore cheetah print and drove a green Jaguar. This spring, she checked herself out of the hospital while facing another health issue to drive to Kentucky to watch her eldest son retire from a 30-year Army career.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That’s just the type of woman she was. There was nothing that was going to hold her back. Once she put her mind on something she was going to do it,” Chris Carter Sr. said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every morning, family and friends woke up to inspirational messages from Robin. Bible quotes, memes and GIFs arrived via text and posts to her Facebook page. She loved her seven grandkids and her three great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robin’s cooking melted in your mouth. Fried chicken, greens, pinto beans and cornbread was her Thanksgiving specialty, but she passed the recipe for her legendary sweet tea to her grandson Chris Carter Jr., he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Coronavirus pandemic began, her family said they knew her compromised immune system put Robin at an elevated risk. They had groceries delivered, limited her trips and made TikTok videos to pass the time. When the vaccine became available, she got her shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn’t enough. By August 28, Robin was in the ICU at Parkwest hospital. She struggled to breathe and doctors told her they needed to put her on the ventilator. She told the reporter she knew the odds were not in favor of her ever coming off it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through it all, Robin still sent inspirational messages to her family. When she couldn’t talk, she texted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I got some form of text or inspirational quote, I got that every day from her,” Robinson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter told the reporter he had no idea she’d called Channel 10.\u00a0“My mother is full of surprises,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reporter asked why he thought she called. He paused and thought, as if trying to channel the spirit of his mom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think she wanted to give the world her last words, her last statement about what she was going through,” he said. “She also wanted to give people hope to continue to fight and continue to do the right thing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One last inspirational message from Robin Williams to us all. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robin Williams was gasping for air. She was dying of COVID-19.\u00a0 She had called the WBIR newsroom to share her final words, and a reporter had answered the phone.\u00a0“Robin Williams. 64 yrs. Parkwest hospital. Raised in Blount Co. On a BiPAP machine. Ventilator tomorrow. Vaccinated, cancer survivor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":11761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[6698,15],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Robin.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1356,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=1356","url_meta":{"origin":11760,"position":0},"title":"Rose Harrison","date":"April 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Rose Harrison, 60, Guin, died on April 6 night at the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, Miss. She was an employee at the Marion Regional Nursing Home and had worked in healthcare for around 30 years. According to her daughter, Amanda Williams, Harrison tested positive for Covid-19 after a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Medics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11793,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=11793","url_meta":{"origin":11760,"position":1},"title":"Vernice Logan, Spokesperson for Narcotics Anonymous","date":"October 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Vernice Logan had overcome a life of being in and out of prison and selling and using drugs to becoming a beacon of light and hope to many. She died due to complications from COVID-19 on Dec. 15 at Harper Hospital.","rel":"","context":"In "Neighbors"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Logan.jpg?fit=600%2C1140&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10308,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=10308","url_meta":{"origin":11760,"position":2},"title":"Carsyn Davis, teenager","date":"June 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Carsyn Davis \u2011- a 17-year-old Fort Myers resident and a cancer survivor with a rare, ongoing autoimmune disorder \u2011-\u00a0 died of respiratory failure after contracting the new coronavirus on June 23, 2020. The medical examiner's report notes that Davis attended a 100-person church event, where people were not required to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Neighbors"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3341,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=3341","url_meta":{"origin":11760,"position":3},"title":"Ken Shimura, comedian","date":"March 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ken Shimura \u2011 a Japanese comedian who co-starred with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano in the Japanese variety show Shimura Ken no Bakatono-sama \u2013 died from Covid-19 on 29 March 2020. \u00a0 He was known as \"Japan's Robin Williams.\". \u00a0 Throughout his comedy career, Shimura was known for his \"Bakatono-sama\" character,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Noteworthy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7043,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=7043","url_meta":{"origin":11760,"position":4},"title":"Elma Cavalida, Maternity Assistant","date":"April 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Elma Cavalida \u2013 a Maternity Assistant at Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow. London, England \u2013 passed away on 26 April, 2020, after suffering from COVID-19. Elma was 49 years old. Her death comes amid suggestions that those from ethnic minority backgrounds should be moved away from the front line to non-patient\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Medics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11758,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=11758","url_meta":{"origin":11760,"position":5},"title":"Fabiana Zoppelli, Schoolgirl","date":"October 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A 12-year-old girl who 'was a friend to everyone' and 'had a smile that lit up every room she entered' passed away just days following the development of complications linked to Covid-19, an inquest heard.","rel":"","context":"In "Neighbors"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/2_AR_170620_fabiana-4-2.jpg?fit=1000%2C665&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11760"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11760"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11763,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11760\/revisions\/11763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}