Shreveport E.R. nurse dies of COVID-19

Registered nurse Mike Marceaux died after contracting the coronavirus while working as an emergency room nurse at Christus Highland - Shreveport, the hospital confirms for KSLA News 12.

“He is selfless and he took joy in making others happy,” said Wesley Caston, a fellow registered nurse.

Caston works at another local hospital that went through nursing school with Marceaux at Northwestern State University - Shreveport.

Emergency room nurse Mike Marceaux graduated from NSU nursing program in 2018.

Wesley says he’s shocked at how fast COVID-19 took his friend’s life.

“Mike and I texted back and forth since we are E.R. nurses,” Wesley said.

He shared their experiences of fighting the virus outbreak on the front lines.

“He actually lost contact with me for two days. That’s when I got in contact with family members and realized he was hospitalized,” Wesley continued.

He says family told him Mike’s condition quickly worsened, dying just days after losing contact with him by phone.

Wesley Caston spent two years at nursing school with Mike Marceaux.

Wesley says he and Mike went through all two years of nursing together at NSU, graduating in 2018.

“He was a selfless guy, from nursing school through our clinical experience. Everyone shared the same opinion. What a great guy.”

Wesley tells KSLA News 12′s Doug Warner that Mike is an Air Force veteran, and married with four sons.

Friday afternoon Christus Health sent KSLA a statement about Mike’s passing.

“Michael Marceaux will never be forgotten by his coworkers, his family, and all those who were honored to know him.”

It continued, “His team has said how much they will miss his smile, how he always had a positive attitude, even after a hard shift. We cannot adequately express in words our appreciation and admiration for the courage and compassion our associates are exhibiting through this pandemic. Their tireless dedication to their profession and our patients is admirable.”

Family and friends have begun a donation drive on Facebook to help with a memorial and other family needs.

Wesley says, in honor of Mike, he and other nurses will continue the fight against Coronavirus.

“Out of respect for him and everyone else working so hard, we need to keep pushing and doing our jobs. They’re counting on us to do that.”