Three years after Texas’ first COVID-19 death, Waco brothers remember parents who died within days of each other

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – Three years ago today, March 17, 2020, Texas experienced its own. the first death from COVID-19.

This type of loss has affected thousands of others, including Gabriel Resendez and his four siblings, who experienced the unexpected in 2020 when both of his parents died after contracting the virus.

“This is something I never thought I would go through,” Gabriel Resendez, one of the Resendez children who lost a parent to COVID-19, told KWTX.

“I felt like my world was falling apart,” said his brother, Moses Resendez. said

Moses Resendez, pastor at Templo La Hermosa, and his wife, Julia, a homemaker, were known in Waco for their volunteer work and community involvement.

“They were a man and a woman of God,” Musa says about his late parents. “She was like a mother to everyone. She welcomed you, she cooked for you, she inspired you to put God first.

Gabriel and Moses Resendez say the love of connecting with others is what got their father June 2020 the virus before spreading it to their mother.

“He will never leave my father’s side,” said Musa. “So she stayed there and made sure my dad was okay, and she ended up taking care of my dad.”

As their cases progressed, the couple were hospitalized together and spent their final days fighting pneumonia and connected to ventilators.

“Because of COVID, we weren’t allowed to go to the hospital,” Gabriel told KWTX. “So we were only able to talk to them on video.”

The couple died only 16 days apart.

Looking back on those devastating moments, the Resendes brothers both say living through the tragedy has renewed their spirits and that time is precious.

“God is with you, and as long as you have God, everything will be fine,” said Moses.

“Make sure you always say ‘I love you,’ because you never know,” Gabriel said.

To date, a little more than three thousand people died of COVID-19 in central Texas.

The public health emergency is COVID-19 Expires on May 11, 2023.

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