He had recently lost his sister to COVID as well which is why he recorded his heartbreaking farewell message for his family while he still had the chance.
The pandemic has taken more away from people all around the world than anyone expected. The family of a 28-year-old nurse has been added to the never-ending list of people grieving the loss of loved ones due to the coronavirus.
A resident of Mexico, Sergio Humberto Padilla Hernandez worked at Hospital Angeles Cuauhtémoc as a nurse. On November 6, hours before dying because of covid complications, he recorded a heartbreaking final goodbye for his family. Right after recording the message, he was placed on a ventilator, reported People, as his COVID-19 symptoms were severe and that's where he took his last breath.
"I will recover, God willing. We will move forward," he said in the video which would be the last time his family hears his voice, reported CNN.
Sergio's cousins, Arturo Hernandez, and Antonio Hernandez revealed in the GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for his family, that the frontline worker had recently lost his 30-year-old sister to COVID as well, and "fearing the worst, Sergio decided to post a heartbreaking good-bye video on Facebook for his loved ones."
According to People, in the 58-second video that was translated from Spanish, the 28-year-old nurse is seen as saying, "The moment of truth has arrived. Whatever happens, you will always be looking out for my best interests, always. I love you, and you are in my heart."
The cousins of the deceased revealed that he was a "loving father to his son, Sergio III, and a loving husband." As they gave more insights into the kind of person Sergio was, they wrote, "Sergio lived life to the fullest. He was a devout catholic and had a passion for helping others. Sergio worked tirelessly, dedicating his life to helping those affected by the virus, amid this pandemic which has hit his home state of Chihuahua particularly hard."
While talking to CNN, the family disclosed that Sergio had taken a break from work to take care of his mother and twin sisters who tested positive for the virus in July. However, by September he was back at the hospital after one of his sisters passed away due to the virus.
His cousin, Adalberto said, "He went back to work and he was continuing on the front lines of helping people with Covid at the hospital where his sister had passed and his mom had been sick, he then contracted Covid himself." On October 22, Sergio tested positive for the virus as well and was hospitalized within two weeks as he was struggling to breathe.
"At that point, all of the tests showed that he had lost 90% of his lung function," revealed Adalberto and continued, "The sad part was that the doctors felt ... very confident with his chances because he didn't have prior health conditions, he was young, healthy."
Even though Sergio had hopes of recovering, he knew somewhere in his heart that his life was hanging on the last string, and just hours after recording his heartwrenching message, he passed away. "Now he's gone, his sister is gone," Adalberto added and continued, "There's one less good person to help people in need because that's what he was about."
The GoFundMe page stated that Sergio's parents who own a small furniture shop in Cuauhtémoc are "facing unimaginable hardships" as they are almost $50,000 in medical debt and are struggling to come to terms with losing two children, one after the other. Adalberto said that for the mom, it's "such a fresh wound to lose a child, and then now you have to watch another child perish. It's just unimaginable."
He also revealed that the "family has received very little assistance financially." "They have put the family car up for sale and have sold nearly every possession of value leading up to Sergio's passing."
In an update on the page, the family said they want to share Sergio's story because they "want to bring attention to this horrible disease that has ravaged communities indiscriminately throughout the world." They further wrote, "Our hope is that our family's story can serve as a reminder that this virus is very real and all precautions should be taken to help protect yourselves, your loved ones and those in your communities."
Sergio is survived by his parents, wife, and son.
References:
https://people.com/health/nurse-dies-from-covid-19-complications-hours-after-filming-goodbye-video/
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/12/health/nurse-farewell-message-coronavirus-trnd/index.html
https://www.gofundme.com/f/remembering-sergio-humberto-padilla-hernandez
