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Award of Excellence
Brad Clift
The Hartford Courant
"Jessica and John: A Tragic Embrace"  

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Shaken and overcome with emotion, Jessica steadies herself as she grips John's casket. John died one day before his 44th birthday, leaving Jessica and his family on their own. At 22, Jessica had known John for 5 years and knew she'd be lost without him. In the last hours of his life, John had one request, that Jessica call his mother, who lived a few towns over, and that his mother would bring his three teenage children to his bedside to say goodbye. Jessica says it was the toughest call she's ever had to do as she cries on the phone to John's mother. Jessica and his entire family were by his side when he died in the same hospital that refused him admittance just five days before, an error that cost him his life. His infection was treatable if treated when he first went to the hospital. Jessica and social workers said he wasn't treated because he's black and an addict.
 
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