COVID-19 Relief for Rene and Kim Cantu

On August 7th, some of our dearest friends, Rene, Kim and their children, flew into Florida to meet another family for a week of fun and much needed rest from work. When Rene began to experience cold-like symptoms, he took a test for COVID-19 and it came back positive. He was ok…normal cold symptoms but confined to his room for their week of vacation in Florida. He is diabetic and has high BP, so Kim kept a close eye on him. A few days later after 2 ER trips, he had to be admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. Kim, their daughter and a close friend stayed in Orlando to be near him. This vacation quickly turned into an unimaginable nightmare…at least we wake up daily wishing it was. Once he was admitted, they had to put him on high flow oxygen to help keep his O2 levels up. It was very painful for him and he couldn’t lay down because it burned his throat and chest. Even with this, he was still struggling to breathe. When Kim would FaceTime him (because no visitors were allowed), he would be sitting on the side of his hospital bed trying to sleep in an upright position. He was so tired and miserable and this was so hard for Kim and their children to watch. His struggle continued daily until it was decided to intubate him and put him on the ventilator to let his lungs rest and heal from the damage done by the virus and pneumonia. Immediately after the intubation, his heart stopped 3 times. They were able to get his pulse back all 3 times. They moved him into ICU with a grim report back to Kim and their family. It was the hardest day they had ever faced in their lives. They decided that the Ecmo machine was the last hope for recovery. This is what the doctor called a lung (and heart) bypass machine and also a “last Hail Mary” for Rene’s body. These machines were hard to find because of the rampant respiratory illnesses across the state. However, we knew God had his hand in this along the way because there was one machine left in this particular hospital that Rene was in. Kim decided right there they had to do it. Since he has been on this machine, there has been improvement. We know it is God and all of the petitions by prayer to Him. Kim is also allowed to see Rene for a few minutes a day because they’ve made a special exception at this hospital just for them, and she knows that he knows she’s there.

They have truly been blessed beyond belief with offers for lodging and food while having to be out of state away from their family and friends while he is in ICU. However, she is aware that this will be a very long recovery for Rene. She can’t help but worry about the medical bills and their household bills that are starting to pile up in San Antonio. They had already been financially affected by the virus over the past year, but they were still holding on. Rene is their sole provider and they depend on his income. So we are asking if you would like to help support Rene and Kim during this difficult time, please consider making a donation to help with these growing expenses. If you aren’t able to, we understand that this is a very financially strained time, but please please please pray for them and their loved ones. We know God is in control, and He always provides and will make a way where there seems to be no way.

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