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My dad was a loving husband of 57 years, father and grandfather. He was taken way too soon, just prior to his 80th birthday, from this awful virus. He was still actively working as a CPA for clients of 30+ years. We miss him dearly especially his contagious laughter/dry sense of humor and smile 🙁

My mom would haven been 70 Yrs old. Her last physical was done in Jan 2020, she had a clean medical record. On March 19 mom started to fell sick we call the doctors and no one will see her they said oh no fever she can’t not been seen for days I saw my mom go from healthy person to not having no energy they keep saying she dehydrated give her plenty of fluids but all this time she was fighting the Covit. On March 26 that day mom was really bad had a fever called her primary care they said well take her in to the hospital. We took her to an urgent vare where she waited 3 1/2 hours to get her vitals done while she rated on my brothers shoulder. When they called her in. Mom had a fever and her oxygen was at 72%. They called and ambulance and they took her to The ER at Forest hills hospital. I was able to talk to mom for a second while she got in the ambulance and I told her Mom I Love You. Stay strong and she reply I love you pa. Who knew these where the last words I would hear from my mom. As soon as she arrived they called us and told us she needed to be put on a ventilator we never got to speak to mom again to April 4th when the doctors said she was not well. Those days letting to that one call that said she not well where the worst days of my life. I didn’t sleep I was on alert waiting for good new or bad and they only called once or twice a day they keep telling us not to call cause they where so busy. Back to April 4, 2020 around 10:50 the nurses connected their phone so we can see mom and talk to her she was heavily medicated but I know she heard us. We cried, we prayed and we sang her favorite song from church. We were loosing out Mom. After the call I get a call from the hospital witch I forgot to mention that they transferred her in a ventilator to a hospital 2 hrs away in Long Island in Port Jefferson. So the call was to let us know that we should not have a DNR on my mom. They keep scaling us everyday my mom was there asking us to remove the DNR. I told them I would not and after the last call with the doctor. Around midnight. I received that call the call that destroyed my life at 1:36 am. My Mom Marilu López Santiago had passed away from a Heart attack due to Covid-19. To this day I’m dealing and trying to ease the pain of her dying but it’s been so hard. Never got to say good bye or a hug or a last kiss. I love you Mom. Rest In Peace. She leaves behind 5 children Rosa Santiago, Beverly Rosario Santiago, Pablo López Jr, Omar López and Ruth D López. Two sister a brother and many nieces and nephews. And especially the love of her love her 5 Grandkids Kathleen And Chris Mendez and Mia,Jordan,Myah McDowell.

In mid-March my father returned from a trip back East–travel was acceptable with precautions when he left, and the world changed mid-trip–and went straight into isolation for self-protection. By a week in he was depressed. That Sunday, I stopped in for a masked and distanced visit. The following day the university I work for went into work-from-home lockdown; that Thursday, I had a fever and SOB. Because I’d spent two hours in a room full of pediatricians, nurses and surgeons (administrator for a ped card case conference) less than a week before the lockdown, I was able to be tested. Results were positive, so all the medical staff were alerted (as far as I know I didn’t infect any of them) and my family went into full quarantine. In the dead of night the following night my father awoke in respiratory crisis and called his girlfriend; she drove him to the ER at 3:30 AM, and someone sprinted out of the ER, bundled him into a wheelchair, threw a sheet over him, and wheeled him away. That was the last time she ever saw him in person. He was intubated, rallied briefly and looked to be turning a corner, and then stopped. A week and a half later we got his advance medical directive, which made his wishes clear: he would never want to be where he was, as he was. 14 days after I went into quarantine, I had hit 48 hours without symptoms; that afternoon I set out on a dreary public-transit trip to the hospital (no car) to spend exactly one hour with him, in head-to-toe PPE (hairnet, goggles, 2 masks, gloves, jumpsuit, second pair of gloves to cover the wrists of the jumpsuit and seal me in, booties). His sedation had been lightened and he was semi-awake and recognized me and stared and stared at me; I murmured all the names of everyone who loved him and wanted to be there over and over, and stroked his hair through the two pairs of gloves, until he drifted off to sleep. I promised him I wouldn’t leave until he had fallen asleep, and I didn’t. My daughter had drawn him a card (the elephant mascot of his beloved Oakland A’s), and I propped it up next to his head and told him that anytime he woke back up, he could turn his head just a little and see it there. He immediately tried it–closed his eyes, the opened them again and turned to look, and then closed them again, relieved that it was just as I’d said and his granddaughter’s love note was right there. After he fell asleep, I made the nursing staff promise not to move the card or take it away. I think it was buried with him. So was his cell phone, but that is a whole other story and this story is already much too long to be a brief COVID story. I will never know if I infected him during that brief visit to relieve his isolation and depression, or if he infected me, or if we were both infected separately by completely different people, and I will live with that uncertainty the rest of my life. 

Grace was working as a private nurse when she contracted the virus. It is still unclear to us how and where she got infected. She started showing symptoms at her work place and immediately quarantined herself when she came home. A few days later, she was admitted to the hospital where she was put on a ventilator the following day. Grace was intubated for 53 days before she passed away. She fought hard everyday to survive but her body just couldn’t take it. Unfortunately she left her two children and husband too early at the age of 50. She was a great mother and wife. Grace will always be remembered.

My name is Hope Millan and my father is Jose R. Millan. I lost my beautiful father on 7/14/20 At the young age of 75 due to this horrible pandemic that has taken over our world. My dad was was a healthy man and could still take road trips and drive everywhere he wanted. Never in a million years did I think I would lose my father to such a horrible virus a virus that did unspeakable things to his lungs and body. He still had a lot of life to live. He was an amazing father to his 4 daughters, wonderful husband, the best grandfather and great grandfather. He is dearly missed and forever loved.

This is for my fiancé, we both went in the hospital on the same day. I made it home he did not. He fought so hard as long as he could for a bit over a month that his heart finally stopped. He was on a ventilator, ECMO, dialysis, so many machines he was just so tired to keep going. This horrible virus took over his body.

My big brother, my best friend got Covid but didn’t tell me for fear of worrying me. Once he stopped responding to our constant daily text messages I realized he had confusion due to low oxygen level. He was at the hospital for less than 2 days when incubated. He developed a blood clot that day causing heart attack. He died that night. Too fast, too young. I miss him with every breathe I take.

Louis celebrated his 58th birthday while on a ventilator fighting for his life with Covid-19. He was our superman. He was the most loving and caring father that never missed a school or sporting event for his sons. He was also a loving father, brother, son, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend to everyone. He fought harder than anyone could imagine to stay with his family. He is missed every minute of every day.

My dad was a vibrant, happy, kind man. He was extremely well known and the fact that this virus took him from so many has been beyond devastating. It took only 5 days. I was unable to be with him, and continue to not have closure in any way (no funeral yet). This virus took him away and I have been robbed so many life moments that I wish he could have been a part of. The grief is sometimes beyond my control. He should still be here, and if it wasn’t for this virus, he would be. I miss him terribly, and so do many others.

My father was active up until he wasn’t, He had dinner with his partner on April 29 and I spoke with him at 10:30 pm on our nightly check in and ice cream desert before bed. This night he said he didn’t feel like ice cream. Little did I know this was the last nightly call I would ever have with my father. We were ale the next day at 12 noon on April 30 by my fathers partner he did not answer his noon phone call. Two hours later the police broke into his house. he was found confused and disoriented. My father was transported to the hospital where he was diagnosed with COVID-19. He passed away six days later on May 6,2020 alone without his family and friends near him. I watched him grasp his last breath on earth through a computer screen. He was robbed of being held close as he left us -no hand holding. No close family to support him or each other. He deserved better. My family has been unable to have a celebration of life for my father due to current public health mandates. COVID-19 does not allow us to face death and loss as we are accustomed to . We are unable to grieve in ways that are familiar. Families including mine are unable to heal as the world continues to doubt the validity of COVID-19 and the devastation it has caused to the families it has attacked . If I had one more minute with my father I would hug him so tight one last time and make sure that he knew how much he was loved. He is missed everyday by his family and friends but most of all by his great grandchildren , Loki and Halo.