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St. Louis Jewish family grappleswith coronavirusFrom the Top 10: 2020's most-read stories onstljewishlight.com series
By Ellen Futterman, EditorMar 22, 2020 Updated Jan 7, 2021
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Five members of one St. Louis Jewish family arebattling the coronavirus.
Ryan Weinhaus and his wife, Dr. Brittanie Weinhaus,each tested positive for the virus, along with Ryan’solder brother, Jason, 37. Their mother, JaneWeinhaus, 63, a beloved teacher at Temple Israel'sDeutsch Early Childhood Center, remains hospitalizedin the intensive care unit and on a ventilator atMissouri Baptist Hospital where she has been sinceMarch 15.
Her husband, Michael, 63, who also tested positive forthe virus, was taken by ambulance to Mo Bap onFriday (March 20) because he was experiencingextreme shortness of breath. He, too, was placed on aventilator but is now breathing on his own, though heremains in the ICU.
While the Weinhaus family seems among the hardesthit in the St. Louis area for coronavirus, at least threeother teachers and one parent at TI have testedpositive, according to statements from thecongregation.
Yesterday, Ryan posted about his experience onFacebook:
“Hello everyone! Unfortunately, our family hasbattled and continues to battle a heck of a lot over thepast 10 days. For those of you who don’t know, mymom has been very sick with coronavirus. She hasbeen in the ICU, hooked up to a ventilator andsedated since last Sunday (March 15). When I say mymom is the best, I truly don’t know if there is anotherhuman on this planet as special as her! She would doANYTHING for anyone and truly has a heart of gold.We need her to get better.
“Yesterday, my dad was rushed to the ER as hecouldn’t breathe. He’s also admitted to the ICU andironically two doors down from my mom. I justspoke with him, and it was amazing to hear his voice.He is already making best friends with the nursesand talking golf with them!
“My brother (Jason, 37), (wife) Brittanie (31), and Ihave all had some obstacles during this time, but weall seem to be overcoming them, getting healthier,and on the road to recovery.
“The amount of calls/texts/emails is absolutelyamazing. The love that everyone has shown for ourfamily is something we will never forget. It melts ourhearts and means the world to us.
With that being said, my mom and dad have a verylong road to recovery and we need every prayer andpositive thought you are willing to provide for them!They mean the world to us and I know they do to youtoo! Let’s get them healthy!
Thank you for your love and support!!!
Friends of Ms. Jane, as she is known at the preschool,have started a campaign in her honor on Facebook, sharing photos of her and using the hashtag: "Be likeJane."
"If [Deutsch Early Childhood Center] had a heartbeatit would be Miss Jane. We love you and can’t wait toget one of your famous hugs," wrote one person.
On Sunday, Ryan and Brittanie, and Jason,quarantined in their respective homes, each said theywere doing much better.
Ryan explained that he and Brittanie, both of whomfound out they had tested positive for the virusSaturday (March 21) on her 31 birthday, were onvacation in Scottsdale, Ariz. when they started feelingill.
“It hit us all differently,” said Ryan, explaining thatthe couple first felt bad on March 14. “My wife hadflu-like symptoms and she developed a pretty nastycough. I haven’t coughed once but I’ve had achinessand a bad headache and shortness of breath.”
By the time the couple fell ill in Arizona, Ryan’smother had been hospitalized in St. Louis. Theassumption was coronavirus but her test resultshadn’t come back yet. Concerned that they, too, mighthave the virus, Ryan and Brittanie rented a car anddrove back to St. Louis from Scottsdale, arriving homeon March 18.
“We were spooked — we didn’t want to infect anyoneby flying,” said Ryan. “So we took a 24-hour roadtrip.”
Ryan and Jason explained that their mother first feltsick on Sunday, March 8. She called in sick to workthe following day and went to urgent care to have a flutest, which came back negative.
“Her initial symptoms were cough, body ache, fatigueand headache,” Ryan recalled, adding that his mother“never gets sick” and had no pre-existing healthconditions. “She just wasn’t getting any better, so shewent in.”
On Thursday of last week, Michael Weinhaus took hiswife to the emergency room, where she tested positivefor pneumonia.
“When she coughed on one of the doctors, the doctorsuggested she get a test for coronavirus,” said Jason.“On Saturday, March 14, when drive-thru testingbegan, my aunt took her to get tested.”
Jason said he got tested that afternoon. When both heand his mother’s tests came back positive four dayslater, Michael, Ryan and Brittanie also got tested.
But by then Jane was already in the hospital and on aventilator. Ryan and Jason report that their mother isprogressing, but they’ll be relieved when she canbreathe on her own.
“My wife is about 90 percent recovered, my brother isabout 90 percent and I’m pretty close to that,” saidRyan, adding that he and his wife plan to work fromhome for the next several weeks. “But it’s been arough week for sure. It’s been even harder on mybrother because he has a wife and two small children.”
As a result, says Jason, he’s spent the last weekquarantined in the family’s basement, eating andsleeping there.
“I stared at the wall for the first few days because I feltso bad,” he said. “The hardest thing has been nottalking to my mom for seven days. I’m hoping she willjump out of this soon. I suppose the silver lining in allof this is the support and love we all feel. It’s amazinghow the community has rallied around us.”
Ryan echoes those sentiments as well.
“The power of prayer and positivity has been prettyremarkable. It meant the world to me and I know itwill mean the world to my mom,” he said.
“I don’t pray a whole lot but ever since this happened,I started saying some prayers and they’ve helped mymindset. Your head wants to go to the negative, butslowing down, taking a deep breath and saying aprayer has really helped”
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(From left) Jason and Samantha Weinhaus, Kelli (Weinhaus)Harvey, Brittanie and Ryan Weinhaus, and Jane and MichaelWeinhaus are grappling with the effects of the coronavirus.
Before they got sick with COVID-19, Jane andMichael left to right: Bryn and Leo
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