Married doctors who served as frontliners succumb to COVID-19 days apart

Dr. Dennis and Dra. Helen Tudtud met at a hospital, where they fell in love. Married for 35 years, the pair of doctors diligently followed the call of duty to the very end.

The Tudtuds on their wedding day

As the country began to fight COVID-19, the Tudtuds felt it was their duty to continue working, Dr. Dennis as an oncologist and his wife Dra. Helen as a pathologist. 

It was Dra. Helen who first had fever and a few days later, her husband fell sick as well.

While Dr. Dennis was advised to undergo home quarantine, Dra. Helen was confined in the hospital.

When Dra. Helen's health turned for the worse, she asked her nurse to inform her husband about it. Little did she know that her husband was also rushed to the hospital. 

The two were located near each other in the hospital's ICU, where Dr. Dennis diligently texted their children: "Don't worry about mom. Please pray for our safety, and my recovery and mom is still alive."

He was later intubated and the next day, couldn't send a text anymore. 

"His last text to us was an order for us to give a medical order to a patient. That's the message he sent us," DJ, their son, told Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.

Dra. Helen passed away from COVID-19 on March 28. Three days later, her husband followed. The couple were buried on their son's birthday. — LA, GMA News