Mother dies of COVID-19 weeks after husband, leaving children orphans
LA MARQUE, Texas (Gray News) - A widow and mother of four died after a month-long battle with COVID-19. Neither she nor her husband, who died weeks earlier, were vaccinated.
Lydia, 42, and Lawrence Rodriguez, 49, were both hospitalized with COVID-19 in mid-July, KTRK reports. The couple didn’t believe in vaccines and were both unvaccinated, according to Dottie Jones, Lydia Rodriguez’s cousin.
Lydia Rodriguez eventually changed her mind about the vaccine, but by then, she was in the intensive care unit.
“Before she got intubated, one of the last things she told her sister was, ‘Please make sure my children get vaccinated,’” Jones told KTRK. “She would be there for her kids right now if she had been vaccinated.”
The mother of four lost her husband to the virus at the beginning of August, and she lost her own battle to it Monday.
“Our hearts are just broken,” Jones told KTRK. “We hurt for the kids.”
Extended family has been taking care of the couple’s children: 18-year-old twins, a 16-year-old and an 11-year-old. The children all tested positive for COVID-19 but had either mild or no symptoms, according to The Galveston County Daily News.
Jones encourages people who are hesitant about getting the vaccine to talk to their doctor and get more information from trusted sources.
“Please vaccinate. It is our desire that no other family have to endure this preventable scenario,” Jones told the Daily News.
A GoFundMe set up to help the family with medical costs and bills has raised nearly $50,000.
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