A California man claims that he and more than two dozen members of his family were infected with the new coronavirus, including his father, who eventually succumbed to the killer virus.
Richard Garay claims that he and 27 other family members were infected with COVID-19. His father, Vidal Garay, 60, passed away just a day before Father’s Day earlier this month.
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Garay, 27, says he began experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 in late May, and that his father became ill around the same time.
“In a few days, our health deteriorated. It went from, you know, one day being fine to I can’t breathe, I can’t get up, I can’t eat, “she told the local CBSLA news station.
He said that he and his father tested positive for the new virus on June 4 and the two began quarantining together thereafter. Other members of his family also tested positive at the same time, with Garay suspecting that they could have contracted it from a relative who came to visit in May or from a caregiver who cares for his mother. However, the ultimate source of infection remains a mystery.
At one point while fighting COVID-19, Garay experienced shortness of breath and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
“I’m like, ‘Dad, I don’t think he’s going to make it,'” Garay told the media about what his last words to his father were ultimately. “That was the last thing I said to my father, and the last thing my father saw was that his son was suffocating.”
Not long after, Vidal was also rushed to a local hospital after his condition deteriorated to the point that he was no longer able to recover at home. After two weeks of care, Vidal, who had recently battled leukemia and suffered from a rare form of anemia, CBSLA reported, died of COVID-19, leaving behind a wife, three children and four grandchildren.
All the other infected family members have reportedly recovered, according to the news station.
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“If you think it is false, you will continue to do what you are doing and you will not protect yourself. You don’t want to be in a position where you’re in a hospital bed … before it’s too late, “Richard told the local KTLA news station.
“I don’t want my father’s death to be in vain,” he added. “I want people to understand that coronavirus is a real thing.”
