Young Quebecer who died of COVID-19 pleaded with people to get vaccinated
Kevin Smith Chartree was 27 years old when he died of COVID-19.
The father of two had received just one dose of a vaccine when he received his positive diagnosis on Sept. 1.
He was hospitalized days later and died last Friday.
On his death bed, his family and friends say he pleaded with them to go get vaccinated.
In a message posted to Facebook, not available for public viewing, he wrote: "I didn't believe in COVID-19. I was laughing. This morning, my heart was pumping at 234 beats per minute -- my heart gave out twice. Thanks to my dad for calling the emergency room as I wouldn't have done it myself."
According to his sister, Korine Smith, the young man was quickly put in an induced coma at Saint-Jérôme Hospital.
His oxygen levels had degraded to 50 per cent so doctors made the decision to put him on life support.
Smith says by the time her brother had been in hospital, in critical condition for two weeks, the family knew he was perhaps too tired to fight.
"Today, you're giving 100 per cent and still you can't get the upper hand," she wrote on Facebook. "My brother, know that I love you. If it ever comes to it, know that you can leave with your head held high."
A few days later, on Sept. 24, the young father passed away.
"I will remember this day for the rest of my life," said Smith. "I don't have the right words to explain the pain I'm in right now."
After his death, an outpouring of support and grief flooded social media, with friends and family remembering his charming spirit and love of fun.
The 27-year-old wasn't an anti-vaxxer, they say, he simply had doubts about the vaccine and wanted to wait before getting his shot.
He planned to get his second dose soon so he could travel.
Smith Chartree's funeral is planned for Oct. 3 starting at 12 p.m. at the Trudel Funeral Home (400 Place du Curé-Labelle, Saint-Jérôme).
The ceremony, set at 6 p.m., will allow a maximum of 50 people to abide by public health restrictions, Smith noted.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) notes 20 to 29-year-olds have accounted for 16.2 per cent of COVID-19 cases, that is 2.7 per cent of hospitalizations and 0.1 per cent of deaths -- nine people.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Survivors scream as desperate rescuers work in Turkiye, Syria
Rescue workers and civilians passed chunks of concrete and household goods across mountains of rubble Monday, moving tons of wreckage by hand in a desperate search for survivors trapped by a devastating earthquake.

Powerful quake rocks Turkiye and Syria, kills more than 3,400
A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked wide swaths of Turkiye and neighbouring Syria on Monday, killing more than 2,600 people and injuring thousands more as it toppled thousands of buildings and trapped residents under mounds of rubble.
New details emerge ahead of Trudeau-premiers' health-care meeting
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how provinces anticipate the talks will unfold.
Quebec minister 'surprised' asylum seekers given free bus tickets from New York City
Quebec's immigration minister says she was 'surprised' to learn the City of New York is helping to provide free bus tickets to migrants heading north to claim asylum in Canada.
opinion | Don Martin: Alarms going off over health-care privatization? Such an out-of-touch waste of hot political air
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'
'Buildings are broken': Calgary man in Turkiye describes disaster scene post-earthquake
Calgarians at home and abroad are reeling in the wake of a massive earthquake that struck a war-torn region near the border of Turkiye and Syria.
U.S. 6-year-old who shot teacher allegedly tried to choke another
A 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his first-grade teacher constantly cursed at staff and teachers, chased students around and tried to whip them with his belt and once choked another teacher 'until she couldn't breathe,' according to a legal notice filed by an attorney for the wounded teacher.
Strongest earthquake to hit Buffalo in decades causes 'surreal' rumbles in southern Ontario
A 3.8-magnitude earthquake that struck near Buffalo, N.Y. Monday morning was felt in southern Ontario, officials say.
NEW | Pilots safe after B.C. air tanker crashes in Australia
Two pilots are safe after a large air tanker owned by a Vancouver Island company crashed while battling wildfires in western Australia on Monday.