SAN DIEGO — The Martinez family is turning their grief into good after their own experience with Covid-19 revealed a need at Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas, a need they wanted to make better.
No family or friends are allowed inside the ICU to visit a loved one fighting COVID-19, they can only video chat, and that's what sparked this donation.
A beloved grandmother and mother of four lost her battle with COVID-19 and pneumonia just after Christmas.
"She's the true meaning of unconditional love for her kids," said her son, Danny Martinez. "We took every precautions we could to prevent it, yet it still happened," he said.
Isabel J. Martinez's family watched her pass over video chat, a luxury that the Martinez family says many other loved ones did not have in the intensive care unit.
"They didn't know about the video part of their phone so since they didn't know about video chat, people had to die alone," said Jesus Martinez, a family member.
They say the nurses at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas only had two tablets for 20 ICU patients, so if a patient did not have or know how to video chat, they were only able to borrow a hospital tablet to zoom with loved ones 40 minutes a day. The Martinez's thought that was unacceptable.
They made sure Isabel had her own set up, a phone, a stand and a long power cord so they could talk to her whenever and as long as they wanted.
"Other people said the person went to the hospital and 3 or 4 days later they passed because they couldn't talk to anyone. They didn't know anything. They couldn't hear the voices of their loved ones. I believe that's what kept her going for almost four weeks," said Jesus Martinez.
The day Isabel passed, her family got together and knew they had to do something in her honor.
They raised money to buy 20 iPads, 20 stands and 20 long charging cords to donate to the hospital in Isabel J. Martinez's name, as she raised her family to do whatever they could to help others.
"I just don't want nobody's family member to pass without them being able to communicate. To say I love you one last time before they go," said Danny Martinez.
The family plans on dropping off the donations and 25 thank you baskets at Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas on March 6th.