. welcome back. kelly rizzot widow of beloved actor and comedian bob saget speaking out this morning in her first tv interview since her husband s unexpected death. everything that i have been surrounded by has been a reminder of him and a memory of him, so it s been very, very sat but also very beautiful. and i was telling people today that today is really almost the first day that, you know, there s only so many tears that your body will let you cry. what was the last text? just, i love you so much and i can t wait to see you tomorrow, and i love you so much. what was the last conversation, phone call? he was just on his way home or back to his hotel and telling me what a wonderful show he had. he was just happy and loving what he did. it made him so happy. to just bring laughter to people. he just wanted to spread love and laughter and he did it so
his last words over facetime. the doctor at pontiac general used her personal cell phone to allow him to facetime me and i was able to pray with him before they put him on a ventilator. reporter: rolando aravena was an essential worker at verizon during the pandemic. he was a communications field technician who was sent to a new york hospital to help prepare for the surge. a week later he was sick too. his wife on what he said. he said, mel, i never knew a love like this before. and i love you so much. reporter: there have been so many first responders. 66-year-old paul cary, a paramedic from colorado, who raced to new york to volunteer. he would later die from the virus. philip kahn of long island, who just turned 100 in december. blowing the candles surrounded by family. it turns out philip lost his twin brother during the spanish flu pandemic in 1919.
place for physical healing. reporter: the virus takiing devastating toll on workers on the front lines. in new york, 41 transit workers killed, 1,500 infected with the virus. melody aravena s husband rolando was a communications field technician sent to a new york hospital to help prepare for the surge. a week later, he was sick. if he had to die to save other people s lives, you know, i m going to try to make amends with that. reporter: rolando passing away on his twin daughters 10th birthday. melody remembering their last words to each other on facetime. he just looked at me and he said, mel, i never knew a love like this before. and i love you so much. reporter: in the wake of so much loss, signs of hope that social distancing is working. the university of washington now projecting a lower national death toll over the coming months. 60,415 deaths by august 4th.
people. and they re watching tonight. yes. cnn has given each of our top 10 heroes a global platform to showcase their work and later tonight one of the nominees will be named the cnn hero of the year and they ll receive another $100,000 on top of the $10,000. we are so grateful for all the artists and entertainers giving their time to help us tonight. welcome to the cnn heroes family. let s get started. all right. i am ready to lick my face. do it. what does that mean? solving, rest my face. i know. it makes me uncomfortable. and i love you so much. last year was california s deadliest and most destructive fire season on record. no fire causes as much damage as the paradise campfire. 85 people were killed in that fire. nearly 14,000 homes were destroyed, leaving nearly 50,000
months. she added this message for h her dear friend. denise, i love you so much. i know you re in heaven right now and singing a country song and dancing and smiling at all of us. i ll never forget you. i i wish you were here, and i love you so much. denise cohen was 58 years old. quinton roberts was from henderson, nevada. he graduated from basic high school in 2015. he coached his little brother s flag football team. the two brothers had just gone to a dodgers game together. on facebook his aunt wrote that he had a contagious laugh d smile, sweet soul. his hometown newspaper said quinton liked the tv show the office, liked basketball and golf, vanilla ice cream orange juice. he was a mormon and friends said he spent his sundays with his family. when bailey schweitzer graduated from high school in bakersfield, california, she stayed close to home with family and close friends. she s the light that makes everything better.