How amanda kloots and son elvis remember nick cordero every day

It's been three months since Broadway star Nick Cordero died from complications of COVID-19 at 41 years of age, and his wife Amanda Kloots is opening up about the ways in which she

honors her late husband every day. Kloots, 38, and her 16-month-old son, Elvis, often start their mornings by playing some of Cordero's music and every night, before bed, they look at

photos of him. "We say goodnight to Dad and give Nick a kiss," Kloots tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story, on stands Friday. In late March, the Broadway star was diagnosed

with COVID-19 and spent 95 days in the hospital, 42 of them in a medically induced coma. He developed a lung infection and septic shock and had to have his right leg amputated. After more

than three months of fighting for his life, Cordero died on July 5. * _FOR MORE ON AMANDA KLOOTS, PICK UP THIS WEEK'S ISSUE OF _PEOPLE_ ON NEWSSTANDS FRIDAY_ Kloots says even in her

darkest times, it's her son who always cheers her up. "Anytime I'm sad, he brightens my mood in two seconds," she says. "He looks at me with his big smile and his

little teeth, and I'm instantly transported into a different mood." The fitness instructor and founder of AK! Fitness says she already sees the similarities between her husband and

her son. "Elvis is just calm and cool. He gets along with everybody. I think that's very much Nick," she says. Her home is filled with mementos of Cordero — a rug in the

living room has the title of Cordero's song "Live Your Life" on it; a painting of the family, made by one of Kloots's Instagram followers, hangs on the wall, and a pillow

on the couch is covered in printed photos of him. Kloots says she feels Cordero's positive energy watching over them. "We have this beautiful little boy that we created

together," says Kloots. "I love watching him grow, and I know Nick is watching him too." _WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF PEOPLE COVER STORY: AMANDA KLOOTS__ __STREAMING NOW ON

PEOPLETV.COM, OR DOWNLOAD THE PEOPLETV APP ON YOUR FAVORITE DEVICE._