OKC Firefighter Fundraising For Virtual Hospital Visits After Losing Father To COVID-19

An Oklahoma City firefighter and his family are raising money to buy 100 iPads for local hospitals after virtually following a family members treatment for COVID-19. 

Charles Foughty, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and father of five, passed away spending more than a month in the hospital, while visitation was extremely limited. 

“We were able to be there when we can't really hold his hand,” said Shane Williams, an OKCFD Battalion Chief and son-in-law to Foughty. 

Cassie Williams, Foughty’s daughter, said his initial admission to a hospital was unexpected. 

“We had no idea that he had COVID at that point,” she said. “We didn’t see him again until he had passed.” 

Foughty’s family took full advantage of the iPad, staying online as much as possible. 

“He'd look up and I'd say, ‘we're still here daddy. You're not alone,’” said daughter Sheila Miller. 

“You could see on the monitors, his heart rate would go up, his breathing rate would go up every time they were there to talk to him,” said son-in-law Steve Lumry. “It made a difference on his end too. He didn’t feel alone.” 

Shane Williams said they decided collecting money for iPads to donate to hospitals would be a fitting way to honor Foughty. 

“We got to say our last goodbyes to him,” said Cassie Williams. “It would have been hard to have closure had we not been able to do that.” 

Click here to access Williams’ fundraising page.