A Phoenix woman takes care of her five siblings after their mom died due to COVID. At 25 years old, Vanessa Perez is now in charge of taking care of her younger siblings. That was something she never thought she would need to do at this stage of her life.
Her siblings, whose ages range from six to twenty-three, are now under her care.
Their mom, Mayra Millan died a few weeks before Christmas. Her death was caused by complications due to COVID.
The mom of the six children
Millan worked at a local grocery store and was considered an essential employee.
As the Phoenix woman takes care of her five siblings, she also started to think about how her mom contracted the virus. She said that her mom possibly got infected while she was working at the local grocery store.
When their mom continued to work during the coronavirus pandemic, they started to become very concerned. Since all of the six children lived in the same house in Phoenix as well.
Perez said, "We were absolutely concerned because in our household she was the only essential worker and she was older."
Mom contracted COVID
According to reports, Millan started to have the symptoms of COVID around Thanksgiving.
The eldest daughter says that her mom has no preexisting conditions that could have worsened her condition.
Last December 1, mom's COVID symptoms become worse. She started to have fever, fatigue, difficulty in breathing, and headache. These symptoms raised some red flags to the family, so they decided to call an ambulance.
Perez said that when the ambulance arrived, the paramedics discovered that the mom's oxygen levels were very low. The Phoenix woman added, "They took her to the hospital that day and we didn't hear from her anymore.
Mom remained hospitalized
Since hospital restrictions did not allow visitors, the Phoenix woman takes care of her five siblings and called the hospital up to four times a day.
She said, "I had a hard time understanding so I would ask a lot of questions and my aunt helped too." Their aunt worked in the medical field, that is why she was the one whom Vanessa and her siblings contacted for questions.
During her stay at the hospital, the mom stayed sedated and on ventilation.
Mom died due to COVID
Millan was only 46 years old when she died last December 14.
As the Phoenix woman takes care of her five siblings, it is also difficult for her to explain to her younger siblings, especially to their youngest, what happened to their mom.
"I've tried to explain to her in simple terms that God took mom and we're going to see her again, but she doesn't really understand," she said.
Vanessa is now trying to gain guardianship over her three young siblings. She does this while continuing with her full-time job in a high school.
