A Valley family is questioning a local decision by doctors that placed a "do not resuscitate" (DNR) order on their loved one who was battling COVID-19 for just over two weeks.
Rosendo Sandoval would have turned 67 on Monday, but sadly his family is mourning his loss after he died of COVID-19 just over a week ago.
Rosendo, a local FedEx driver, was diagnosed with the virus in mid-August, before he needed to be hospitalized on August 24 where the virus turned into pneumonia.
His son, Michael Sandoval, tells ABC15 that his father was in the hospital for just over two weeks, battling the virus, and they thought he was doing better and making progress. Sandoval said other nurses and doctors had told his family that X-rays were improving, and that blood levels were improving, so it came as a shock to them when they received a phone call from one of the ICU doctor’s saying that there was zero chance of his father improving.
“And, I said look, it hasn’t even been two weeks at that point, I said ‘I’m not going to just give up yet,’” said Sandoval.
Sandoval worked as a driver for the past five years, and despite wanting to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, his family says he struggled to find the time as he worked long shifts, leaving for work at 6 a.m. and returning home at 7 p.m.
The family says they eventually received a phone call that a DNR was placed on Sandoval, “he said the doctor put a DNR on your father, and I was like 'I don’t agree to a DNR, you guys asked us if we agreed as a family to a DNR and we did not agree to it,' and he said 'I’m sorry to tell you but you have no choice in the matter,'” said Sandoval.
Sandoval said his father was a man who never gave up and he would never give up on his father, “that doctor hadn’t even seen my father, he saw him through a glass window, I said you don’t know how much of a fighter he is.”
Sandoval’s family feels that order kept Sandoval from getting the medicine he needed when his blood pressure dropped on September 15, which would be the day he died.
“I am sad to report that this morning at 1:40 a.m. my father Rosendo Sandoval has passed away thank you all for your prayers,” a post read on a fundraiser for the family.
Rosendo worked since the age of six on a farm, before becoming a truck driver for decades. He would go on to work for FedEx for the past five years.
ABC15 reached out to FedEx to see if they have a policy in place that allows for employees to have time off to get vaccinated.
In a statement, officials wrote:
“The safety and well-being of our team members and customers is our top priority. We continue to closely monitor guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health organizations, and take recommended precautions in terms of team member and customer health and safety.
We continue to educate team members about COVID-19 and promote recommended preventative actions related to hygiene, including frequent handwashing. We are also encouraging them to take any signs of illness seriously and seek medical attention as needed, and are promoting guidance from leading public health organizations on how to keep the workplace clean.”