A US man was told his elderly father was making a miraculous recovery from coronavirus - when in reality he was already dead.
Steve Mastropietro had been told his 91-year-old dad was on the mend two days after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 in his nursing home.
But the nurses caring for his dad at the New Jersey Veterans Home in Paramus soon realised they had made a terrible mistake.
According to USA Today, an identification mix-up at the hospital meant they had mistaken another patient for Tom Matropietrio, who suffered from dementia.
To the family's horror, far from being on the mend - the Korean War veteran was actually already dead.
His son recalled being "stunned but happy” when nurses told him his father was making an incredible recovery.
But four hours later, the nursing staff called again to tell him the bad news about their mistake.
According to the publication, Steve would soon learn that his father and another patient were given the wrong identification bands amid chaos at his dad's nursing home as it was hit hard in the state's Covid-19 outbreak.
Dozens of residents and staff were said to have been infected with the deadly virus at the Paramus nursing home.
It emerged that Tom's body had mistakenly been taken to the other patient's funeral home to be prepared for cremation.
The procedure was due to be carried out the next day.
His son said Tom's wishes were to be buried next to his wife, who died in 2016.
Luckily, an eagle-eyed funeral home worker spotted the mix-up when he noticed two medical bracelets on the body bearing different names.
“We are devastated that this error occurred and we offer our most sincere apology for the mistake in the notification of their father’s passing,” Dr Mark Piterski, deputy commissioner with the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which oversees the homes, told USA Today.
Tom's son described his dad as "jack of all trades."
He had three children with late wife Mary, and had served in the Army and worked as a boiler maintenance man.
He had been receiving dementia care at the veterans' nursing home since February, his family said.
Tragically, just months later Covid-19 would ultimately claim his life as the virus takes grip in the US.
Steve told USA Today his dad had been settling into the home: “He was happy. He was doing better than he had been doing in a long time. And we felt like we made a great decision. But we didn’t know what was coming.”
He had last been able to visit his dad in March, before coronavirus cases began emerging at the facility and visitors were barred.
New Jersey and neighbouring state New York have been hit hard by the Covid-19 outbreak, as the US leads the world in virus deaths.
“I made the decision to leave him there and I’m kicking myself,” Steve said.
On April 6, Steve was reportedly told his dad had a fever and cough and was asked if he wanted his dad to go to hospital.
He claimed the guidance he received was unclear, and he feared his father could be exposed further to the virus if he went into hospital after seeing reports of overrun wards.
Two days later he saw his dad over FaceTime, and described him as looking "like death."
The next day, his dad tested positive for the virus and was moved to a ward in the nursing home with other coronavirus patients.
It was on that ward that Steve said he suspected the identification bracelet mix-up occurred.
Recalling the phone conversation that revealed his dad was not in fact on the mend, and had died, Steve said it was "crushing."
The funeral home had to send him pictures of his deceased dad's face so he could make the identification.
It was devastating, he said: "I was holding my mom's hand when she died.
"I never had that chance with my dad. I never had the chance to say goodbye."
