Lielah’s sister, Maria “Bambi” Roaquin, passed away due to the coronavirus early on Friday May 22, 2020. She worked as a frontline nurse in the critical care and intensive care units of New York-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital where she provided compassionate care to COVID-19 patients until she herself was admitted due to symptoms of coronavirus. She fought for weeks in the intensive care unit after surviving complications associated with the virus and suffering both a heart attack and a stroke.


Bambi’s last post on Facebook (4/27/20) alludes to the stigma of COVID-19 exposure preventing her from accessing the testing and treatment she needed. It’s heartbreaking to know that there’s a possibility that her death could have been prevented.

Nevertheless, Lielah’s family is reeling from this loss. Grieving and making funeral arrangements following the loss of a loved one is always difficult. However, it is infinitely more so due to the isolation, and heightened stress of the coronavirus pandemic. We have organized this fundraiser to reduce the burden that Lielah’s family has to bear alone.

Lielah grew up in NY, and is the youngest daughter in a multigenerational, multiracial and multinational family. She grew up with her sister, Bambi, who was more like a mother than a sister due to the 24 year age difference. Bambi was born in the Philippines, and arrived in the United States and lived in the Bronx, NY in the early 70s, during a time when racist and xenophobic sentiments towards individuals of South East Asian descent were extreme. Despite the many barriers she faced as an undocumented single mother, Bambi was committed to helping others and studied to become a nurse. This was a calling and a career that she ultimately gave her life for.

Any contribution will directly fund the funeral and burial and support the family during this difficult time. Thank you.