Hector, a hardworking, sociable father of three, loves dancing, Mexican music and horses. He came to Methodist in late June for symptoms related to metastatic cancer. He received high-dose chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, which doctors believed had a chance of curing him. But the treatment also hobbled his immune system, lowering his defenses against infection.
“I have faith in God that I’m going to get over this.”
Days later, he developed a fever, diarrhea, vomiting, cough and difficulty breathing, and he tested positive for the coronavirus. Doctors thought he caught it at the hospital, despite many precautions taken to prevent its spread. He was offered the last spot in a study of experimental plasma treatment, but he was confused and declined it.
“They miss their father,” his wife, Nancy Bravo, said of their children. “They’re not used to him not coming home.”
His wife, Nancy Bravo, said the coronavirus’s biggest threat was to vulnerable people like her husband. “Society needs to protect the weak and the sick,” she said. “He’s just a really good person with a lot of desire to keep living and fighting for his kids.” From his hospital bed, Hector urged people to take the virus seriously.
Replay with sound 0:54
How you doing? Doing OK?”
Translation “He’s very friendly, he loves to dance.
He loves Mexican music.
He’s a good friend,
a good companion.”
“I have three kids.
I have cancer.
And now, I have this.
This is not a game.
This is real.
To all the people who don’t think that coronavirus exists:
It does exist.
Just look at me.”
On July 22, Hector had an unexplained seizure and doctors inserted a breathing tube to save his life. He remains on a ventilator, with medications keeping him deeply sedated, and his condition has worsened precipitously in recent days. On Monday, doctors told Nancy they no longer believed he would survive. “Just don’t disconnect him, because a miracle can happen,” she pleaded, and they reassured her they would keep treating him. She asked to visit, but was told it wasn’t possible because of the pandemic. Instead, the family joined in prayer on a video call, with a staff member pointing a camera at Hector.
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