SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — During the COVID-19 pandemic News 8 has kept its viewers updated each and every day on the latest coronavirus numbers. What we began to realize, is that we needed to show that each case number is a person. That person is a loved one, a family member and a friend to countless others.
That's how we found Irma Dojaquez.
Irma was married to her husband Carlos for 48 years. They met as children in Tecate, Mexico. Irma described him as the light of the group. "He was very playful, he had a lot of friends," said Irma.
That playfulness, kindness and boisterous laughter would go on to define Carlos' personality. He was a hard worker, a husband, a father to two daughters and a grandfather to four grandchildren.
He was planning on retiring after his 71st birthday, but that all changed when he and Irma both got sick.
"Suddenly from one day to another, my body started aching.," said Irma.
Irma recovered but Carlos' condition only got worse. He was taken to urgent care where it was confirmed he had COVID-19. Carlos was especially vulnerable to the disease because he had pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and a heart arrhythmia. Carlos was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital in an ambulance immediately. Irma was shocked.
"He (the doctor) says you have ten minutes to say goodbye and you know, I feel like, I wasn't there. Like half of my body wasn't there and I was so numb," said Irma.
As we've seen during the COVID-19 pandemic pre-existing conditions can lead to severe cases of the virus. News 8 has spoken with Dr. Abi Olulade on multiple occasions about the pandemic. Although she didn't treat him, we spoke with her about Carlos' diagnosis.
"Certainly, having those chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, being of older age does put you at risk of that," said Dr. Olulade.
Carlos was placed in a medically induced coma and intubated at the hospital. Due to pandemic protocols, Irma wasn't allowed to see him in person. She would call every day and a nurse would put the phone to Carlos' ear for her to encourage him to get better. There were good days and bad days, but Carlos was never removed from his coma. After three weeks Irma received the call that it was time to say goodbye. She and one of her daughters could visit him with protective gear at the hospital.
"They gave us some time to be with him. Then we connected by phone with my other daughter. Then we put the phone on and we said our goodbyes," recalled Irma.
After a long and difficult goodbye, Irma and her daughter went to the hospital chapel. Before they could even get inside, they received a call from the nurse.
Carlos had passed.
"The minute we opened the door to the chapel, the nurse called me and said, you know, Irma, he passed. So I went into the chapel and I had just seen him and it looked like I could just pick him up and take him home," Irma said through tears.
After hearing Irma's story, you want to comfort her and hug her. These days you can't. But what you can do is you can make sure you listen to her warning.
"Let's take care of ourselves right now. Let's follow the instructions. If you don't care for yourself, care for the other people," said Irma.
Irma says Carlos' legacy will live on in the people he touched.
"How should I put it? It would make me feel so good, you know. To know that there are a lot of people really. Liked him and loved him," said Irma.