Last Monday, April 23rd 2018 while getting ready for work, I received a call from my grandmother. From the moment I picked up my phone, I knew it was something bad, but didn’t expect to end up like this. My grandmother found my father on our bathroom floor with blood everywhere. He was unconscious when my younger brother picked him up and immediately called 911. Although he passed out for three times that morning and he refused to get transported by the paramedic, my brother and aunt still proceeded to call 911 call and he was transported to the Kaiser in South San Francisco. From there he was brought in the ER for immediate blood transfusion because he already lost half of his blood volume by the time he got there.

Around 1pm, my aunt and brother called me and updated me with everything. They found an ulcer in his small intestine and he needed to undergo an endoscopy. At 2 o’clock, my father called my mother and told her that everything was fine and he said he would call her back after the surgery. My father even asked my aunt for some food before because he hadn’t eaten anything. Around 3:00PM, my aunt called me, crying heavily, she told me that my father had lost his pulse for 30 minutes during the surgery. Followed by my brother’s text “it’s bad you guys have to come down here!”

Based on what the doctor’s diagnosis, my father suffered from massive internal bleeding due to an arterial vein that ruptured near the ulcer in the duodenum or small intestine. My father went thru 20 units of blood but because the blood loss was very rapid, he lost his pulse. They brought him back up after 30 minutes but his brain has already suffered from massive brain injury. On April 28 at 6:38PM, he was pronounced brain dead, also known as legally dead. As a family, my younger sister, younger brother, and I decided what is best for my father given his situation, was to shut down everything after the doctor stated his prognosis that my dad has zero chance of waking up and having any brain activity. It is very hard for us to take this in especially for my mother who had just been in that same ICU unit in 2014 when she suffered from stroke on the left side of her brain.

Unfortunately, my father and mother had no bank account and they were unprepared for any tragic event like this, let alone funeral or burial funds. My father was 52 years old and I am sure he did not expect this to happen that’s why he did not put any funds aside for family emergencies. He was the sole provider for our family after my mother became incapacitated after she suffered from the stroke.

We are asking for any type of donations or prayers to help us thru this very difficult time. We need as much support as possible. Anything will help, even a prayer to strengthen my family and to cope with the loss of beloved father. Thank you! - Rovie Flores and family

Viewing

Duggan’s Serra Mortuary
500 Westlake Ave. Daly City CA 94014
May 2nd & 3rd 4p-9p

Mass

St. Augustine Church
3700 Callan Blvd
South San Francisco 94080
Time: TBD

Burial

Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
1500 Mission Rd, Colma 94014
May 4th, 2018
Time TBD