A candlelight vigil was held Friday afternoon outside Riverside Community Hospital for a 67-year-old health care worker who died after testing positive for COVID-19.
"I'm extremely proud. She was a great woman. She had faith in God," her daughter Dora Reaza said.
Reaza wants the public to know about how her mother, Rosa Luna, came to the United States back in the 1970s with hardly any money in her pocket.
"She learned English, she got her GED. She became a U.S. citizen," Dora said.
She said her mom dedicated her life to her family, helping raise two grandchildren.
She also worked hard to provide for them with her job at Riverside Community Hospital.
That's where her mother worked for 27 years, in environmental services as a housekeeper.
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"She did everything to give us the best life," Reaza said.
But in mid-April, Reaza says her mom started to feel sick.
"She had body aches and headache, sinus pressure," she said. "She said her bone in her head hurt."
On April 26, Reaza says her mom tested positive for COVID-19, and she believes her mom got it while working at the hospital.
Since Luna had high blood pressure and diabetes. She was at a higher risk for complications.
"Everyday I told her, 'Do you want me to call 911? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?' She would always say, 'No I don't want to be intubated. I don't want to be intubated,'" Reaza said.
For several days her mom told her that she didn't feel sick enough to warrant a visit to the emergency room.
"She didn't have a cough until the evening before and she didn't have a fever til that morning," Reaza said.
The morning was May 4, the last day of Luna's life.
"She suffered a horrible, horrible death. This not like the flu. It's a thousand times worse," Reaza said.
Thats why Reaza is warning others: If they have a loved one who has COVID-19, don't hesitate to get help, especially if their symptoms aren't getting any better.
"I truly feel in my heart that if my mom would have said yes she would still be here I know that for a fact," Reaza said.
A spokesperson for the hospital released a statement saying that they are devastated by this terrible loss, and Rosa will be deeply missed.
