It started when a 9-month-old baby first showed signs of COVID-19, now 15 of her relatives are infected with coronavirus.
Among the relatives infected are her 33-year-old father and 67-year-old grandfather, who are now hospitalized.
‘I’m living in faith, if I don’t have hope, who’s going to have hope?” expressed Jazmin Mosqueda whose husband has been under an induced coma at a Phoenix hospital since Christmas.
Although most of the relatives, including the baby, seem to be getting better, Mosqueda says her husband’s health is a “waiting game."
“He needed another machine on top of the ventilator. They call it an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) which bypasses the lungs. That machine is what's keeping him alive,” stated Mosqueda.
Mosqueda’s husband lost his 35-year-old brother to COVID-19 in July, when the coronavirus was at its peak in Arizona.
“After he passed away, we didn’t go out, we weren’t seeing anybody, we were wearing our masks, but we let our guard down with family.”
Mosqueda says the family got together last month before Thanksgiving.
“We kind of got relaxed between the family just because we needed to be close. It was a difficult time and we allowed ourselves to not wear a mask and see our sisters and sisters in law,” said Mosqueda.
A total of 16 family members got infected. The first person to start showing symptoms was her 9-month-old baby.
“Don’t let your guard down, even with family. If you love them, wait a little longer. Even if you’re sad for not seeing them for months, I'd rather not see them for months than never seeing them again.”
Mosqueda says the pain her family is going through is unbearable. Due to hospital visits restrictions, her only communication with her husband is in her dreams.
“This may sound weird, but I feel we have a supernatural connection. I dream about him; I hear his voice and we tell him that he has to get better. That we’re waiting for him.”
She asks the community to not wait until their loved ones are in the hospital fighting to survive to take the pandemic seriously.
“I know we’re tired of being home, but it’s just a little longer. The vaccines are here, it’s just waiting for our turn."
Mosqueda says they need prayers, but she’s five months pregnant and with her husband and father-in-law hospitalized they will also need financial support.
If you would like to help, you can find her information on GoFundMe.