New York resident Carlos Esguerra is angry at the death of his friend. ( Facebook)
New York, New York
I AM ANGRY. No, the better word is I am FRUSTRATED – VERY FRUSTRATED.
Words from a friend who lost someone to Coronavirus in New York.
This is his story.
A fraternity Brod of mine, a gentle and God-loving soul, a successful immigration lawyer in NY, passed away last Tuesday. He is 8 years my junior.
He called me the day before and he sounded bad. He had shown symptoms of Covid-19 the week before, so he had himself and his wife tested, but the results had not come in yet. Because he did not have shortness of breath, he was advised to just stay home.
The current protocol says the hospitals will not admit him unless he has shortness of breath. The next day after he called me, he was feeling really sick especially after his doctor called to say he was positive for Covid-19. His wife was not.
They decided to call 911 for an ambulance. The ambulance was really taking a long time to come, so they decided his son will drive him to the hospital.
When he stood up to go to the car, he suddenly collapsed. He was dead on arrival at the hospital.
Now his wife is experiencing the same symptoms for Covid-19 and all she could do is stay at home because she does not have shortness of breath.
I am very FRUSTRATED because it seems the protocol is for you to have pneumonia and be near death before they will admit you to the hospital. And we can not do anything about it because the hospitals are really overwhelmed.
So, the best we can do for all of us who do not have symptoms yet is to STAY HOME. DO NOT GO OUT, AND PRACTICE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS.
Please say a prayer for his wife and son.
Editor’s note:
Esguerra arrived back to New York on March 16 from Spain where he was travelling – barely hours before the country was in lockdown.
Here is his post:
N E G A T I V E !!!
The most welcomed word today. Despite two weeks of travel to three different cities in Spain, the new epicenter of the coronavirus in Europe after Italy, my doctor said the magic word today “NEGATIVE” result for my test for Covid-19. Thank God almighty. He answered my prayers and those of my family. I will continue my self-quarantine until the conditions in NYC improve. That is the next challenge.