HOUSTON – Sitting on the couth with all five of her children, Shearle Williams fights back the tears as she looks at photographs of her loving husband, Kim.
In early October, Kim contracted COVID-19. The virus progressed to coronavirus-related pneumonia. The night before Thanksgiving, Shearle got an urgent phone call from the hospital.
“I get a call from Oak Bend, telling me to come,” she said. “When I get there at 1, he was in cardiac arrest again. This was the second time going into cardiac arrest. They pronounced him dead at 7:28 Thanksgiving morning.”
Ever since Kim’s death, Shearle said, it’s been impossible to think about the holidays. She and her kids have been living in a fog of grief and sadness, going through the motions but celebrating nothing.
“The kids is more sadder when I’m sad, and I’m always sad since this happened,” Shearle said. “I haven’t been happy in two to three weeks now, and I don’t want them to see me like this.”
Shearle is struggling to work full-time and care for her five children, doing it all alone.
Her biggest wish is to see her children happy again and to see their spirits lifted during Christmas -- her husband’s favorite holiday.
“I want to see them laughing and smiling,” she said. “I want to see them back to normal -- kids just enjoying it.”
Bill’s Brigade called in the folks from Academy Sports and Outdoors to help make her holiday wish come true.
They provided $1,500 in gift cards to the family, plus a new bicycle for each of the kids.
“I think it will make a big difference for my kids,” Shearle said. “It will.”
Want to be a part of Bill’s Brigade? Email solvesit@kprc.com or call 713-223-TIPS.