Pointe Coupee Parish woman dies from COVID-19, the community gathers to together to pay off her medical bills

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - At Livonia Branch Library, there is a children’s section filled with books, most donated by Livonia High School English Teacher, Ms. Lucy Boley. Today, her family is reading one of her favorites I Love You Forever. 

Ms. Boley used to read this book to her son when he was a child. Now, 23-year-old, Owen Thompson holds those memories close to his heart remembering his mom’s infectious smile.

“She was one of those people that loved with every ounce of heart, she just opened arms to everybody, and I want to have that capability to love with all of my heart like she did,” says Thompson.

Ms. Boley spent 41 days in the hospital, 35 days in the ICU, and she was stuck on a ventilator. After several hard days, Thompson’s mom lost her battle to COVID-19. Now his family is trying to figure out life without her.

“You expect something is going to work, some treatments, something that they do is going to work for her. It just seemed like nothing would help,” says Kay Griffin who is one of Ms. Boley’s sisters.

Ms. Boley contracted COVID before and she beat it the first time around. She planned to get her vaccine during the summer break, but she caught COVID again. One of Ms. Boley’s last posts on Facebook was encouraging the people she knew to get the vaccine.

“We had people that were sending us pictures, that were sending the shots, saying ‘Ms. Boley, we got your shot. We got the vaccine,” says Roy Chenevert who is also Ms. Boley’s sister.

While Ms. Boley was in the hospital, medical bills started piling up. The nonprofit group, Fair Health, did an analysis showing the average cost for COVID patients who have to stay overnight in the hospital is around $75,000. That number jumps tremendously if a patient has to get on a ventilator averaging out to more than $300,000.

The people of Pointe Coupee Parish are raising money for Ms. Boley’s family making bracelets and shirts that say “#BoleyStrong.”

“I am so proud of the community that she is from, I’m just very proud of them. So, they loved her and they showing her love,” adds Griffin.

Thompson and his family say they are grateful for the communities’ helping hands in memory of their beloved English and Drama teacher.

The community is also planning a benefit dinner to be held on Saturday, October 2.

Some Pointe Coupee public libraries schools will be closed on Monday for Ms. Boley’s Funeral.

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