The mother was grieving the death of her husband when she contracted the virus and passed away within 12 hours.
The joy of growing up and celebrating birthdays with the family is a joy on its own but little Raiden Gonzalez would not have that luck as he turns five this month. The now four-year-old boy has been through something that no child should ever have to endure.
Raiden, who's from San Antonio, Texas, lost both his parents within 100 days after both contracted coronavirus. In June, he lost his dad Adan, 33, and then his mother Mariah, 29, passed away in October, reported The Mirror.
Adan, who was a truck driver, was admitted on June 3 and within three weeks, on June 26, he passed away. The medics who were treating him described him as "one of the two sickest at the hospital." Raiden's mother Mariah on the other hand was a school teacher and was planning for her husband's funeral when she too passed away after falling ill from the virus.
Orphaned by COVID—a four-year old boy loses both his parents 102 days apart to the pandemic. Heartbreaking story from @abc13houston: https://t.co/BTMu0FPmis
— Conor Finnegan (@cjf39) November 14, 2020
The little boy's grandmother and Mariah's mother, Rozie Salinas told NBC News, "He misses his mom since he was a mama's boy. Just this morning he told me that he wishes he had his mom back and he just wanted her back." Rozie added, "I mean, what do I tell him? You know, so I just told him that they're now angels watching over us and protecting us."
Rozie confessed that Raiden is the reason she's not crumbling. "He's what keeps me going, just with his friendly and constant reminders telling me how much he loves me," she said and continued, "He's always thanking me for taking care of him, but I've just got to think about him. It's a hard situation to process."
Heartbreak as boy, 4, orphaned after both parents die of coronavirus within 100 dayshttps://t.co/elP3wEvQ2J
— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) November 15, 2020
The grandmother is now preparing for the little one's birthday which is on November 28 to make him feel like he still has a life that can be happy. Rozie revealed that she and her sister have planned for a large drive-by celebration. She said, "We have several truck clubs, bikers, Mustang clubs, classic cars, Jeep clubs, plus the fire department. It’s going to be a huge turnout."
Rozie revealed that Mariah was still grieving her husband's death when she passed away on October 5. The virus took her life just hours after she felt sick. Rozie was informed about her death days later.
"Mariah wanted to do a memorial for Adan, but she never got to it," said Rozie who now planning to conduct a memorial for both her beloved daughter and son-in-law after the holidays. Raiden is still in the preschool where Mariah worked. "I kept him at that same preschool," Rozie revealed and continued, "They take really good care of him. They know what his situation is."
Raiden's great aunt, Margie Bryant, revealed that the boy was "the apple" of his parent's eyes. She told ABC13 that Mariah's death came as a bigger shock to the family since there were no symptoms. "She had no symptoms whatsoever. Not a sniffle, not a cough. Nothing," she said.
"Contact was very, very limited. Mariah was just an emotional wreck. If she was lucky she would be able to talk to the charge nurse once a day. At the very end when the nurses thought there may not be a recovery, she was allowed to FaceTime with him," added, Mariah's uncle, Harry Wagner, about Adan's death.
Harry also revealed that after Adan's death, Mariah had planned to dedicate her life to her son but by the beginning of October, there was a sudden onset of symptoms. Even though she was rushed to the hospital immediately, "She was gone within 12 hours," he said. Harry added, "It's not a joke. It's not fake news."
Little boy loses his mom and dad to Covid within just 100 days of each other https://t.co/CJxMbKIXIv
— The US Sun (@TheSunUS) November 15, 2020
Adan and Mariah according to the family had been together for eight years, but when they took their last breaths, they were completely alone. Little Raiden never got to say goodbye to his dear parents. "The other side to this is the painful suffering of the family members who are left behind, especially in this situation when it's a 4-year-old child," said Harry.
Raiden was happy on the morning of November 14 when he received a surprise birthday gift. Rozie said, "He likes dinosaurs, he likes monster trucks, he likes Hot Wheels, but being that he picked the dinosaur theme for his birthday, he really liked it."
Raiden is for now staying with his grandma. However, as the family is preparing for the boy's permanent guardianship, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help make Raiden's birthday the best he's ever had as he learns the truth that his mum and dad won't be part of his celebrations ever again.
References:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/heartbreak-boy-4-orphaned-after-23012582?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/covid-kills-4-year-old-boy-s-mom-dad-san-n1247850
