Northeast Oklahoma teacher dies after battle with COVID-19

By Kaylea M. Hutson-Miller

Three days after Christmas, Jennifer Cunningham found herself at INTEGRIS Grove Hospital struggling to breathe. 

What began as a self-quarantine for the high school English teacher after an exposure on Dec. 4, had progressed into a life-threatening bout of COVID-19. 

That day, following a doctor’s appointment, Jennifer’s husband Wes Cunningham dropped her off at the emergency room for testing to determine how the double pneumonia – one of the effects of the virus – was progressing.

“It was the worst feeling to have to set in a car outside and not be able to be in the room with her,” Wes said. “You are absolutely helpless.”

A mid-afternoon CT Scan indicated Jennifer had blood clots in both lungs. Doctors told Wes they were looking to find a hospital to transfer her for further treatment. 

However at that moment in time, Wes was told, there were no hospital beds available in Oklahoma, Arkansas or Missouri. 

By 6:24 p.m., Dec. 28, Jennifer died. Doctors told Wes they believed some clots dislodged when she went to the restroom. 

Her last Facebook post simply read “I’m at the ER again. Lungs bad. Please check on Wesley Cunningham.”

Now, a few days following her death, Wes and other family members and friends – including the couple’s two daughters Victoria, 17, and Annaliese, 11 –  are speaking out about Jennifer’s journey with the virus which by Dec. 31, 2020 had claimed at least 2,489 Oklahomans – 72 of whom lived in Ottawa and Delaware in northeastern Oklahoma. 

“I think it’s important for people to see (COVID-19 impacting) people close to them and in their communities,” Wes said. “They need to see how painful and devastating of a disease this is. 

“I think so many people take (COVID-19) for granted and do not take the simple precautions of wearing a mask until it affects them directly. It is a proven killer. You just have to look at the numbers.”

COVID-19

Officially diagnosed with COVID-19 on Dec. 15, the teacher at Bluejacket High School began having symptoms of the virus after self-quarantining from an exposure on Dec. 4. 

While her initial congestion symptoms indicated a negative COVID diagnosis, Wes said her illness progressed to include basic cold and flu-like symptoms along with a fever.

Worsening conditions led Jennifer’s doctor to order tests for COVID-19, Influenza and Strep Throat on Dec. 14, and prescribe a z-pack.

Always a jokester, Jennifer wrote on Dec. 15, a humorous Facebook post light-heartedly blaming younger brother Marc Shaffer for the illness. 

“He’s given me three adorable nephews, a sweet niece and a new friend in Joelle,” Jennifer wrote. “And lucky me, he’s still giving me things….like COVID-19. Thanks for sharing. I still love you.”

Jennifer told family and friends she wanted to use social media to highlight her journey with the virus. Jennifer knew first hand, from watching her sister-in-law’s experience working at a Joplin-area ICU how area hospitals were over-saturated with COVID-19 cases.

“She was worried people were not being safe enough,” explained Joelle Shaffer, Jennifer’s sister-in-law. “She posted things because she wanted people to know what COVID-19 was like.”

Four days later, Jennifer’s posts turned a bit more serious as she asked friends for “positive vibes, thoughts, love and prayers.”

“I’m going on seven day sof this COVID-19 nonsense,” she wrote. “The fever keeps climbing and I’m tired.” 

By Dec. 22, Jennifer’s fever continued to climb to 104, all while her oxygen levels decreased into the low 90s. Tests at the INTEGRIS Grove Hospital emergency room indicated she had pneumonia, along with low oxygen levels. Jennifer was discharged after the seven hour stay accompanied by the prescribed oxygen tank.

Jennifer’s post that day simply stated: “fever too high, blood oxygen too low, pulse high, blood pressure too low” and showed an image of her feet encased in OU slippers while laying on an emergency room bed.

A Christmas Eve update, would let friends know the prescribed oxygen was helping her, although she said, her blood pressure was still a bit low and the fever was only staying down thanks to medicine. 

Wes said things began to improve a bit on Dec. 26, when Jennifer slept in a bed. It was the first time in eight days she was able to leave her recliner for more than a bathroom break or trip to the porch. 

“I really thought she was going to get better after we came home with oxygen,” Wes said. “I thought that would help us turn the corner.”

Jennifer’s update on Dec. 26, accompanied by a photo of her pulse oximeter read “Haven’t seen 97% in a week. We won’t discuss this morning, it was scary. But celebrating the win. This is, of course, with oxygen. Can’t have all the nice things all at once.”

Her death would come two days later as she sat at the INTEGRIS Grove emergency room awaiting transport to another hospital. 

COVID-19, relentless and hard to defeat with any underlying conditions, claimed another victim. a 42-year-old wife, mother of two, teacher and community volunteer.

In one of her last messages to her brother, Jennifer recanted her joking post, telling him he was not to blame for her illness. A teacher and coach, Marc became ill with COVID-19 just prior to Jennifer’s diagnosis. He believes they both were exposed to the virus at school. 

Dedicated to students

Before her marriage to Wes in 2003, Jennifer explored a career in the hospitality industry – dreaming of working in a hotel in Hawaii, obtaining a degree in meetings and destinations in hotel management. 

After the birth of Victoria and Annaliese, Jennifer began working for the Department of Human Services in first Ottawa, then Delaware Counties in child welfare.

Marc said the job left Jennifer empty, searching for other ways to help the students she encountered. 

“She wanted to make a difference,” Marc said. “She could only figure out, if you wanted to make the world a better place, you had to be there.”

That passion, family members say, led Jennifer to pursue an alternative teaching license and even encourage Marc to complete his own degree to teach. 

Jennifer eventually began a master’s degree in education administration from Western Govenor’s University. Before getting sick she successfully passed the Praxis test and the LEC comprehensive exam – two requirements for her degree. 

Jennifer began teaching middle school science in Fairland in 2013, before transferring to teach the same subject at Will Rogers Middle School in Miami. 

In 2019, she made another move – one which family said she hoped would be her final change – to teach English and Yearbook at Bluejacket High School – the small school at the edge of Craig County, where she graduated in 1996.

“Moving to Bluejacket was like coming home,” Marc said. “She fit just like a hand and glove. She was exactly what they needed.”

Amber Harrison, a Grove teacher and friend, would go on walks with Jennifer. The pair would discuss ways to get their students engaged and excited about learning – even if it meant finding new, innovative and hands-on methods. 

The pair would later collaborate, taking their respective students on field trips to the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry in Locust Grove. Jennifer made it mandatory for her students to enter the museum’s poetry contests, even as she herself entered. 

Jennifer’s first entry, I Remember, was published in Word Daubers, the collection of works from the museum’s 2019 Summer Poetry Challenge. The book also contains Annaliese’s first published poem, written at the age of 10.

“She wanted her students to be globally aware and care about others,” Amber said, recalling how Jennifer’s childhood years living in Germany made her see life differently. “She wanted them to make a positive impact on others in the world. To just make a difference.”

Jennifer set the same standards for her daughters, taking both to the Oklahoma Capitol during the 2018 state-wide teacher walkout. 

“It made me more aware of what was going on in the state,” Victoria said. “It also helped me be more interested, and involved in politics.”

Ever the “force of nature” – as friends describe Jennifer – she made then 9-year-old Annaliese ask a question about education funding during a group meeting with  Sen. Micheal Bergstrom. 

 “I like asking questions and there were a lot of people there,” Annaliese said, recalling the moment. “(Mom) engaged her students. She was good at that.”

Wes describes Jennifer’s teaching style as uplifting, while Marc said Jennifer’s expectations set the bar high for her students. 

“She installed grit in her students,” Amber said. “It was her dream to work in Bluejacket. She had a sense of hope that she could go (to her hometown) and approach education differently than others.” 

Marc joked his mother often referred to Jennifer as her “stubborn little girl,” saying the stubborn nature made Jennifer strive for success in everything she did, all the while inspiring others to do their best.

“She had a loving stubbornness to get my sister and I to do as many things as possible that we wanted to do in life,” Victoria said, “She taught me to try your best and never stop trying til you get it right and to follow your dreams no matter how hard the journey is going to be.” 

Service information

Services were originally set for Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in the old gym at Bluejacket High School – where Jennifer played basketball, including the year the team won state runner-up. However as of Monday, Jan. 4, due to illness in the family it has been postponed until a later date.

In lieu of flowers, family members have asked memorials to go to a GoFundMe account to help Wes and the girls at https://gofund.me/9c1642d5. Services are under the direction of Worley-Luginbuel Funeral Home, Grove. 

Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in the Jan. 3, 2021 issue of The Joplin Globe.

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