Our ordeal started on Nov 19th of 2021. Even though my husband had a negative home test, he did had pneumonia symptoms. So, I took him to the hospital where they did an x-ray. They said without any test that those were “covid lungs”. We decided not to stay in the first hospital and came home. We tried to get an ambulatory clinic to come and provide medication. They denied him because of leaving the hospital.

That day we decided to go to university hospital. When we got there his oxygen wasn’t 80% walking by himself. They took the test and it took over 5 hours to get the results. At that time he was admitted into the hospital. That’s when our nightmare started. I had to fight the hospital staff to allow me to stay because my husband was scared of staying. Because he knew how many people have died. As soon as I said to them I was staying, they brought me legal paperwork. They said that I was not authorized. My only answer backs was proposition 6 gets me the right to stay with my husband. That’s when they said we will let you stay at your own risk. But we will not provide food or PPE for you.

I was scared, but I decided to stay. I couldn’t leave my husband alone. He was scared himself and this man was never sick in the 21 years I was married to him. This was very difficult for him not only as a man, but also as the provider of my home. He felt that he was supposed to be protecting us yet he forgot about himself. As soon as they gave my husband Remdesivir, he started having convulsions and turned purple. His whole body turned purple and nobody came to help even when I called the nurse. They just looked through the small window and said no. I didn’t know what to do, he was feeling extremely hot due to the medication. So, I got him completely undressed, put wet towels around him.

One of the things I noticed was the mask for the oxygen. It had several holes impossible for someone to be able to catch some oxygen with it. I covered it with a towel and that help him some to get oxygen. After about 5-6 days Rocky said let’s go home. I want to go home. He didn’t want medication anymore. So, we stopped medication. We spoke to the doctor that was in charge for the week. Dr. Hinojosa and Dr. Holly Day. The doctor said to my husband,” Just because you are talking to me I’m going to allow you to think about what you want to do. But in the end this medication is to help you otherwise you’re never going to get better”. He told him, “You know COVID-19 can kill you”.

After my husband asked to go home he said, “As soon as he walked out the door he was going to collapse and he was going to be ventilated”. We also had  one of the nurses bully my husband by making him feel less than a man. This nurse was a veteran himself. He started talking to my husband like he was not a man to the point that he pressured him into continuing the medication. The nurse told my husband, “You lasted five to six days four more it’s nothing, you can do this Marine”. I don’t feel any man will be willing to say no after someone makes you feel less than a man.

We continued to stay there on the 11th day, Dr. Hinojosa told my husband you will be able to go home and finish the quarantine at home on November 30, 2021. That night my husband was talking and he was really excited about coming home. We didn’t sleep because we were just talking and listening to music. Talking about coming home and trying to get healthy again. The next morning I started feeling sick and he got worried. He thought I probably contracted covid. I told him I needed to go to the restroom. I fainted in the restroom, but I had the chance to pull one of the nurses cords.

They came inside. I never lost consciousness. And I was able to get up and walk towards my husband who tried to scream for help. He ended up in shock. He was still breathing; he turned purple, but he was still breathing on his own. There was no medical team trying to resuscitate him or do anything. They just rolled him into the ICU.

Two hours afterwards, they came and got me. They told me he was intubated, which I didn’t understand why. He was breathing on his own we were supposed to go home…..I cannot believe this happened. My husband was tortured for 9 months before he passed away. And someone needs to pay for it. This has brought us emotional, financial and uncertainties to my children and I. My husband was a veteran and was killed by his government.