My former student is dying and there is nothing I can do to help him.

I am a veteran high school English teacher in a trailerhood like small town in the United States. About an hour and a half ago I received a phone call from our district office that I was listed as an emergency contact for one of my former students. He's 14 now, so it was probably two years since I had him.<br><br>While I was on the phone with our district's contact tracers, they told me that my former student had been diagnosed with COVID, and that they were going to list me as his emergency contact contact, but then the contact tracer told me he was in the ICU with COVID pneumonia, on a ventilator, and that his situation was dire. One of his parents was also positive with COVID.<br><br>I teach in a part of the country where people don't believe COVID exists, and where masks are viewed as a form of government control. I've had parents argue with me in front of my class this week because I was enforcing our school's mask policy. I can only assume that this kid's parents think COVID is bullshit, and that's particularly why he is where he is right now.<br><br>That kid always had incredible potential. He was bright, thoughtful, and had a great work ethic. He was always willing to do whatever it took to succeed, and was always willing to comply no matter what. While I never got the chance to have a real conversation with his parents, he always had everything he needed, and never indicated he was neglected. He was a great kid and he did not deserve to die like this.<br><br>Two years ago I tried to push this kid to be an incredible writer, and the results spoke for themselves. He wrote beautiful poetry and stroies that I still remember. His writing style was unique, and I told him that he needed to continue to write, and that he had an obligation to the world to produce incredible work. The kid was special.<br><br>I know he took that to heart, but it seems it didn't matter. His future is being cut short because of the ignorance of the people in this county, and there is literally nothing I can do about it.<br><br>This has hit me hard, and I'm not sure how to process this. <br><br>Edit: <br><br>Thank you all for your kindness, support, and love that you've given me tonight. I am so touched by your generosity and all of your beautiful comments. I am still processing everything tonight, but I appreciate all of that. <br><br>I am going to keep my former student and his family in my prayers tonight. I am deeply saddened because of his situation, but I am so touched by how kind and compassionate all of you are.