New Year’s Day brought the death of Carl Stephens’ only son.
Ozell Stephens Jr. suffered a stroke on Nov. 2. He was released from the hospital three weeks later and was recovering at a rehab facility. The 55-year-old still wasn’t able to walk as the new year approached, but could speak clearly. He called his mother every evening to say goodnight.
“I’d ask him how he was feeling and he’d say ‘Good,’” Carl said. “He talked about wanting to come home.”
On Jan. 1, Ozell was rushed from the rehab facility to Sarasota Memorial Hospital with a fever. Carl went to see her son at the hospital, where a doctor told her he had COVID-19, which is listed as the probable cause of his death in medical examiner records.