The mother is calling for changes in school policies after losing her son to COVID

FLOYD COUNTY, Georgia (WGCL) – A mother from Georgia, who is currently battling COVID-19, is preparing to bury her 13-year-old son who succumbed to the virus.

The grieving mother is asking the governor of the state to make changes to the public schools.

“It’s different when you get home,” Jennifer Helm said.

Helm spoke outside his home with a journalist during what he said was the worst moment of his life.

“I just want to catch him,” he said.

Helm lost his 13-year-old son, Porter Helm, to COVID-19 on Wednesday.

“The most horrible thing I’ve ever experienced,” he said.

She hasn’t had a chance to see him or tell him she loves him yet, but she already knows what she’ll tell him when she last sees him.

“Oh my God, I love you so much,” he said. “I would give anything if you were still here.”

Helm is among the thousands of oxygen-fighting COVID-19s from home.

He was barely breathing when he tried to describe how his son had been breathing lately after he woke up coughing at his father’s house.

“He gave her some medicine, waited a bit, and went back to look for him,” Helm said. “And when he came back and checked it out, he wasn’t breathing.”

Porter was a lover of video games that made everyone laugh, he said.

He was not vaccinated and tested positive for COVID-19 just one day after his mother.

“There’s not enough research,” Helm said, defending his family’s decision not to get vaccinated.

Porter, however, didn’t even make it to the week.

Helm said he believes Porter caught him at his school, Coosa High School, where there have already been 11 cases in three days.

He now supports the latest call from Georgia Democrats, such as Rep. Roger Bruce.

“We ask that schools be closed until all children can receive the vaccine,” Bruce said.

Helm agreed, stating that the state government “cannot continue to cultivate these children in these schools.”

The office of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, however, is not yet in motion.

“Science and data are pretty clear that kids have to be in the classroom to be able to learn well,” said Cody Hall, a spokesman for the governor.

Helm said he believes Kemp’s office and school districts are not taking the pandemic seriously.

According to the school district’s website, Porter High School has approximately 1.2% of cases.

Under current district policy, masks will remain optional as long as the case rate remains below 2%.

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