Coronavirus: Young brothers lose both parents 15 days apart
When 14-year-old Isaiah Garcia and brother Nathan, 11, stood at their mother’s funeral earlier this month they thought it was the hardest thing they would ever have to do, 15 days later they were at their father’s funeral.
"I didn't get to say goodbye to my mum or my dad now, and that's what hurt me the most right now," Isaiah, from Houston in the US state of Texas, told ABC13.
Naomi Esquivel died on July 2 from coronavirus, husband Carlos Garcia, 44, attended her funeral with their two sons.
“She was sick for a long time and came in contact with Covid and her body was just not strong enough to beat the virus,” the family wrote on a GoFundMe page to raise money for her funeral.
Mr Garcia had also tested positive to COVID-19 and was recovering from the virus when he was hospitalised for kidney failure.
On July 17, he was found unresponsive and died from oxygen deprivation.
Brothers Isaiah and Nathan are now mourning the sudden loss of both their parents.
‘You die alone without your family’
Ms Esquivel’s mother Rita Marquez-Mendoza told ABC13 coronavirus left the family with the heartbreaking reality of not being able to say goodbye.
“Dying now is more tragic than it was before because you die alone. You die alone without your family members," Ms Marquez-Mendoza said.
She said the family still haven’t recovered from losing Ms Esquivel and they now have to bury another family member.
"We hadn't even begun to grieve my daughter and now we have to bury Carlos, and the grandchildren are left without a mum and a dad,” Ms Marquez-Mendoza said.
The boys’ uncle said on Facebook: “My nephews are left with out parents but we will stand up to the plate and do what we have to do to raise two young men.”
The brothers will now live with their uncle and father of four, Jacob Mendoza, according to ABC13.
"I love them with all my heart and I know this is what their parents would've wanted was for me take them in,” Mr Mendoza told the outlet.
Isaiah said at least he and his brother “get to be with our family” after his father died.
"We don't have to go to an orphanage or anything. I'd rather be here than anywhere else right now,” he said.
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A GoFundMe page originally started to pay for Mr Garcia’s funeral has now exceeded its target, reaching more than US$133,000 after a large donation paid for the entire funeral.
The family who started the page will donate the money to Isaiah and Nathan to help them with living expenses “and anything they may need”.
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