Esmeralda Rodriguez knows first hand the impact that COVID-19 can have on an entire family.
“My daughter got it, she had it for 42 days. I got it, I had it for 30 days and my two grandsons got it. My husband got it, too,” Rodriguez, a COVID-19 survivor, said.
Esmeralda and her daughter experienced severe coronavirus symptoms for several weeks each.
“Difficulty breathing, coughing runny nose, headaches, fatigue. I even had the loss of smell and taste and then it's the chills," she said.
News that President Donald Trump tested positive for the virus is something Esmeralda said everyone should take seriously.
“I was very sad to hear that, you know, he's our president. I don't want anybody to get COVID because I know what we went through and especially when I went through and it's, it's no joke,” Rodriguez said. “I know there's people out there that say that it's joke, that it's fake news and that's frustrating.”
The Rodriguez family also lost an extended family member to COVID-19. Esmeralda said the days of dealing with the virus were some of the darkest in her family’s life.
“It's amazing how this COVID has turned everybody's world upside down in what you normally do to go and be there for your family member and somebody dies, and you can’t even be there for that. You can even be at the hospital with people that you love because of the risk of the safety risk.”
Esmeralda said she hoped people don't let their guards down, but will wear masks and take proactive measures to make sure everyone stays safe.
“Just based on what we went through and when I went through, I don't want anybody to go through this," she said. "I want people to stay healthy and live."
