Before being admitted to a Fort Bend County hospital, Alfonso Rodríguez Jr.’s father had been complaining of an upset stomach for about a week.
The 86-year-old man went to the emergency room and described episodes of diarrhea and constipation.
He wondered: could he have the virus?
In the emergency room, they told the elderly Alfonso Rodríguez that he probably had a twisted intestine and they sent him home.
But days later, he was admitted to the hospital and found out that he had COVID-19. Then the unthinkable happened: the disease tore his family apart and claimed the life of Alfonso Rodríguez Jr.’s father, his mother, Porfiria, 87, and his younger brother, Rudy, 55, in less than two weeks.
“I kept thinking it was all like a bad dream,” said the 66-year-old man. “A nightmare.”
Such heartbreaking stories have been unfolding across Texas since COVID-19 cases began to escalate again last month after the reduction of government restrictions on business and daily activities. The revival has had a devastating impact on the state’s Latino community. In Harris County, for example, more than half of those hospitalized with the virus each week since late May have been Hispanic.
Cases like the Rodríguez family also illustrate the cruelty of the disease, taking the lives of parents or older siblings in the blink of an eye, often without the opportunity to say goodbye or take the hand of a loved one.
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Members of a Rosenberg family were devastated by COVID-19 last month. The family included:
Alfonso Anzaldua Rodríguez, 86, father of eight and family patriarch, who died on June 19.
Porfiria Morales Rodríguez, 87, Alfonso’s wife of 68 and the family matriarch, who died on June 9.
Rudy Rodríguez, 55, one of his children, who lived with the couple and died on June 8.
Irene Soliz, 61, one of the couple’s daughters, who was hospitalized by COVID-19 after moving to the family home to care for her mother and younger brother.
Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 66, did not test positive after visiting his parents on Memorial Day weekend. Later he had to organize funerals.
“If you don’t think this is real, you’re wrong. I lost my mom. I lost my father and my brother, all at once, “said Alfonso Jr ..” This is serious. “
Transmission among those living in the same household occurs with COVID-19, said Dr. Prathit Kulkarni, an assistant professor of medicine in infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine.
At a McAllen hospital, Juana Prieto and her husband Jesus mourned the loss of their 35-year-old daughter Jessica from the virus while they were being treated, CBS News reported. “There are no words to describe this. Losing your son, my only daughter, “Juana told a journalist.
Although doctors initially told Elder Alfonso that he did not have the virus, medical experts said members of a household can take steps to reduce risks in a household when a diagnosis of COVID-19 is confirmed.
“It really depends on the details,” said Kulkarni. Are they separating? Aren’t they Are they wearing a mask? Are you eating together? Are they cleaning all surfaces? The measures being taken affect how often it happens. “
In multigenerational families, he added, some choose to keep older or more vulnerable members of the household away from others, and if they interact with other household members, they wear a mask.
The Saturday before his father was admitted to the hospital, Alfonso Jr., one of the eight children, spent the day with his parents and younger brother at their Rosenberg home.
He stayed for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The couple’s eldest son used to stop by the house on Saturdays or Sundays, bringing a frozen watermelon or melon to share on the kitchen table.
Their visits had become less frequent during the pandemic, as public health officials emphasized how vulnerable the elderly are to the coronavirus. Still, his father urged him to pass.
“You have to come visit us, we miss you,” she recalled her father telling her.
After his father Visit to the emergency room days before, x-rays did not find a twisted intestine. But the doctor still didn’t believe he had the virus.
Elder Alfonso was given a couple of recipes and sent home again.
Her son recalled that he felt ill that day, but was in a good mood during his visit. However, at dusk, the father said his stomach was upset again and he went to bed.
If he had coronaviruses, family members wondered, where did he get it from? Alfonso’s only trips had been to the supermarket and he took precautions.
“He always wore a mask,” said Alfonso Jr. “He always wore gloves and always had plenty of hand sanitizer. So we really can’t pinpoint that they were around someone who was infected. “
Two days later, on Memorial Day, an ambulance transported the elderly Alfonso to Oakbend Medical Center in Richmond.
His daughter Irene Soliz, 61, came to care for her mother and brother Rudy, who had suffered a stroke seven years before, which left him paralyzed and unable to speak.
Porphyria had heart problems, as well as weak kidneys and lungs, and diabetes.
Irene moved into the house temporarily, without worrying about contracting the disease.
However, soon, his mother and younger brother also began to have an upset stomach and show symptoms similar to those of the family patriarch.
They both started eating less.
Within two days of being in the house, Irene also began experiencing stomach problems.
One night Irene went to see her mother, only to find her lying on the bathroom floor. Irene picked up Porfiria, with the help of her brother, and helped her back to bed.
Early the next morning, her mother’s condition worsened.
When Irene helped her mother to the bathroom, she could barely walk and then she slipped and fell.
Irene leaned her mother against the dresser and put a pillow behind her.
“It seemed like he wasn’t there, like he wasn’t looking at you but through you,” Irene recalls. “I said ‘Something’s not right.'”
Then Irene called an ambulance for her mother.
Irene then became concerned for her brother, Rudy.
“Does anything else hurt?” She asked him.
He touched his chest.
“Brother, you’re going to have to go to the hospital,” said Irene. “You need to go.”
Rudy didn’t want to go to the hospital, Irene said, but she finally agreed.
When Irene called the ambulance on June 3, just a few days after calling her mother, Rudy seemed concerned.
“He looked at me like he wasn’t coming back or something,” Irene recalls.
That night Irene’s husband, their two sons, and their daughter arrived at the Rosenberg home and sat outside under the trees on lawn chairs. Irene stayed on the porch.
His family told him about a clinic in Stafford where he could have a rapid coronavirus test.
Irene had been tested a week earlier, at a site at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds, but had not yet received her results.
Meanwhile, Rudy had been placed on a ventilator shortly after being admitted to the same hospital as his mother and father.
He died five days after being admitted.
Alfonso Jr. I couldn’t understand the news. He thought his younger brother might get ahead. So did Irene.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Irene. “She was the last to leave. It seems the strongest. “
A day later, on June 9, Alfonso Jr. called his sister with more bad news.
“Mommy passed away,” he said.
Irene was alone in the Rosenberg home, not wanting to risk making anyone sick.
She said she trusted her faith.
“I’m not alone,” said Irene. “God is with me”.
Just before midnight Irene drove to United Memorial Medical Center at Acres Homes.
Her family followed her to make sure she got there safely.
He had completed his rapid test at the clinic in Stafford and received the results: positive.
Irene had multiple symptoms of COVID-19: mild headache, poor appetite, loss of taste, upset stomach.
His family had lobbied him to enter the United Memorial Medical Center, which has been praised for its success in treating patients with COVID-19.
Alfonso Jr. She was trying to keep him together for the family, making funeral arrangements for both her mother and brother. He couldn’t sleep while trying to comfort his brothers and sisters.
He He remembered what his mother had told him about being the older brother.
“When we are gone, you will have to step forward,” Alfonso Jr. tearfully recalled what he said. “You are going to have to be the family glue.”
Alfonso Jr. He was also fighting to have his father transferred from the community hospital where he was being treated. He thought that perhaps UTMB or a hospital at the Texas Medical Center could do more.
Meanwhile, her sister was receiving intense treatment at United Memorial.
She was given breathing and other treatments, as well as a variety of vitamins, to help her stay strong and fight the deadly virus.
On June 19, Alfonso Jr. He called her with more devastating news: even though his father was transferred to UTMB, he too had died.
Irene had been able to speak to him on the phone at the beginning of the family crisis. Now Irene, who was isolated from the family during her two-week hospital stay, was alone again when she learned of a father’s death.
“There is no one there to comfort her,” said Alfonso Jr. .. “No one there to hug her.”
Porfiria and Alfonso had been married for 68 years, forming a large family of eight children, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
At their home in Rosenberg, the Rodríguez family took care of themselves.
Originally from Westhoff in DeWitt County, Elder Alfonso had worked as a contractor. Most recently, he had his own lawn mower repair shop.
He suffered a brain aneurysm several years ago, but had been in good health ever since, often cooking for everyone in the home.
He could make a quick breakfast, making grated potatoes, eggs, sausages, bacon, and tortillas, in 20 minutes.
Porfiria, born in Nordheim, kept the house for the big family. She was quiet, but her warmth and compassion showed in her hugs.
“They said you could feel the love my mother had,” said Irene.
The Rodríguez family loved to gather for celebrations. Often the elderly Alfonso would be the one to dance, usually with Porfiria, but when she got tired, he attracted other relatives.
He also loved listening to Los Luzeros De Rioverde, a Houston family music group.
Born in Richmond, Rudy made sure his mother took his medications. Before his stroke, Rudy also remodeled houses and worked as a roofing contractor.
He loved seeing old westerns and attending family parties, where Irene only let him have a beer.
“He would laugh,” said Irene. “He snapped his fingers, damn it.”
The Rodríguez brothers struggle to cope with the sudden loss of their parents.
When Alfonso Jr. had trouble with the mower recently, he wanted to call his father, who was a skilled mower mechanic.
“I can’t call him anymore,” Alfonso Jr. realized.
After Irene was discharged from the hospital and underwent her second COVID-19 test, she immediately wanted to call her parents to tell them that she had tested negative again. She realized that she couldn’t.
“I can’t give you the good news,” he said.
