Our media partners at The Advocate have posted a story about a Carencro family hit by the COVID-19 virus.
Keenan Duffy, 39, took his mother to the hospital where she was treated successfully for the virus. A short time later, his symptoms began and although he tried to get tested at the Cajundome, he was sent away. He had to go to Opelousas to get a test - which was positive.
He eventually was hospitalized with the virus, and although his mother is now recovering at home he did not survive.
Duffy's wife told the Advocate that she tried to reach Mayor-President Josh Guillory about this, but he wasn't available last week. Today, he released this statement:
Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Josh Guillory saddened to hear of the death of Lafayette Parish resident Keenan Duffy from COVID-19. “It is always tough to hear that any of our residents have fallen victim to this extremely deadly virus, I want to express my condolences on behalf of my family and all of us at Lafayette Consolidated Government, to the Duffy family during this very difficult time”, Guillory said. It was reported by local media outlets that Mr. Duffy was screened out and denied testing at the Cajundome screening site earlier this month. It is important to reiterate that LCG only facilitated the screening site, medical officials from the local healthcare industry conducted screening and testing under CDC guidelines. Questions about the decision making process for screening should be referred to the medical community.
KATC then reached out to Our Lady of Lourdes and Lafayette General Health about Duffy. They responded with this joint statement:
Our Lady of Lourdes and Lafayette General Health staffed and resourced the Cajun Dome screening site with committed intent to serve our community. As partners, we shared our hospital allotment of kits to act quickly and offer drive thru testing. We followed CDC guidelines that were interpreted and agreed upon by a number of medical experts on a regional task force. We do not have information about how other screening centers operated.
Our prayers are with the family of Keenan Duffy, knowing their lives are forever changed by COVID-19.
Duffy is remembered as the glue that kept his family, his friends and his colleagues together — the kind of person who knew everyone and was genuinely interested in their lives. He had a larger-than-life personality that was matched by his 6-foot-7, 300-pound frame. He was the outgoing type who would lend a listening ear, diffuse a difficult situation and inspire others to overcome obstacles, the Advocate reports.
To read The Advocate's story about this family's tragedy, click here.
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