"I want to live"

 

Those were the words my father, Manuel Cueva-Zurita told his doctor when he reached critical oxygen levels on January 29th. In early December of 2021, my father contracted COVID. He was quarantined through the holidays after his tests came back positive, and we spent Christmas anxiously hoping he would get better by some miracle. He did not.

We rushed him to the hospital on the 26th when his breathing took a turn for the worst. As a young man, my father previously contracted pneumonia and spent 40 days in a coma which left one of his lungs in a state of deep disrepair. When he was admitted to the hospital the same day, we prayed he would not have to suffer the same experience now as a 70-year-old man, husband, father of six, and grandfather to his loving family. During his internment, my father's defenses were severely depleted. He contracted pneuma and bronchitis back to back, as well as a bacterial infection - all of which assaulted his lungs. He underwent a series of intense treatments and we prayed it wouldn't get worse. It did.

On January 29th, my father coded. He had spent a month and a half fighting for his health in hopes to prevent intubation, but his oxygen levels plummeted early Sunday morning despite all the efforts of the hospital staff and treatment.

At 8:45 am, my father reached for his doctor's hand and said "Intubate me, I want to live."

My father has been in an induced coma for a week as of this page's creation. We were only able to visit him when he had been conscious for 3 days before he closed his eyes and began the hardest battle of his life. Because of the mandates, only one of us can now visit him at the ICU during visiting hours. We talk to him every day, under heavy protective garments that ensure we do not harm him in his delicate condition. His condition is critical, and his voice has been reduced to the sound of his breathing, yet every day we are reminded that he wanted only to live. For us. His family.

 

He's a man from Ohio. He likes football and never missed an Alabama game. He watched the Vegas Golden Knights debut in the NHL and has been their first supporter. He likes soccer and followed Peru through every loss and win in any Cup they happen to be playing in. He's a man who got excited to cook holiday dinners and likes to craft decorations from scratch. He tirelessly made sure his family was taken care of - without him, we are lost and scared, and brave the day only hoping that when he wakes up, he finds that we are just as he left us. Together for him.

 

The goal post is a fraction of what his treatments have accumulated, yet my father's life is worth an infinite amount combined and more. Every day is a gift and a torturous waiting game. It may take weeks to months for my father to wake if he survives his current condition. We pray the alternative never comes to pass.

 

My father wants to live. Please help us give him every possible chance to see his wish through.

Edit Feb 22/22: It’s with great and heavy loss in our hearts that this fundraiser has changed into also covering my fathers funeral arrangements. He did not survive the emergency procedure we announced a week prior and we find ourselves in a world without the best man we have ever known. He loved us selflessly. 

The medical expenses and now his funeral costs are things we wish we shouldn’t have to ask help for, yet because of the pandemic our dad had focused so much in keeping us safe that he let his insurance lapse. This devastating loss is marred and made even more difficult knowing that he never meant to leave us, especially in debt. He wanted to live and tried his best. 

your donations are so deeply felt spiritually, you are all as special as our dad was.