David Coronel lost his older brother, 47 years old, and his parents, both 72 years old, within days of each other between the months of March and April 2020. It happened just at the beginning of the confinement measures established in as of March 16 of that year after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.
The first to get sick was his older brother, who worked as a merchant at the Food Transfer Market, in the north of Guayaquil. “He died on March 27 and was sick for almost two weeks, when he went to the hospital his lungs were already taken. They told him first that it was a picture of pharyngitis and they sent him back with pills, but he did not want to return to his house (where he lived with his wife and two children), he went to my parents and there he infected them ” .
On April 14, David’s mother died and two days later his father. After the deaths of the three, it was confirmed that they had died due to COVID-19.
The population is reluctant to receive vaccine boosters, despite the fact that with the initial doses, deaths from COVID-19 went from 10,552 in 2021 to 1,554 so far this year, six times less
David, 37, says that he broke the quarantine to do the paperwork and bury them. At that time he weighed 320 pounds and because of his obesity he was vulnerable, but he still took the risk. He even experienced the pilgrimage for medical attention at times when public and private network emergency rooms were full.
“No one wanted to take my brother in, there was no clinic, we went through several, and finally they treated him at the IESS (Ecuadorian Social Security Institute) dispensary, which is in the Bahía sector (in the center of Guayaquil), from there he they sent with fresh winds, that he had pharyngitis”.
But then he fainted and was taken to the private clinic Sur Hospital de Guayaquil, the only one that took him in and where David’s father also arrived.
Their mother died after being admitted to the Alcívar clinic, in the south of Guayaquil. “My brother and my dad were going to be intubated, but they couldn’t hold it and they died, my mom was intubated for about a week. We could not watch them, we took the body and the coffin and we were waiting until they make the hole.
More than two and a half years have passed since these three deaths and David receives psychological treatment like his sister, the two were the only ones who finally survived: “We haven’t healed because it’s not easy. There are things that sometimes remain and it does hurt me, but I carry my sorrow in silence, I try not to let anyone know, I am the only one left in my family with my sister (47 years old), there is no other choice but to move on.” .
When he was with his now-deceased relatives, David did not get sick, but he did have coronavirus last December, as did his three children and wife. He believes that the vaccine helped them so that their cases do not become serious, since the two doses had been administered.
From March 2020 to September 30, 2022, Latin America has reported more than 178 million confirmed cases, according to data from the Pan American Health Organization. A report this month from the agency warns about the impact on the mental health of the affected population.
In the region, cases of anxiety, panic attacks, depression, suicide rates, consumption of alcohol or other substances, and situations of violence increased. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
