My story is different than most.

It began with my daughter Elvia testing positive on Friday, September 18, 2020. It started with her and her boyfriend. Both were positive, so they separated from the rest of the family.

By Sunday, Elvia’s breathing started getting heaving, and she was getting sick. Then by Monday, I had her taken to the hospital by ambulance because of her breathing.

She was only 17 years old, so I went with her as her mother. I stayed with her in the hospital. Elvia’s condition worsened fast as I sat in the hospital room with her while she was on room oxygen. By Thursday, September 20, 2020, I had her moved to a bigger hospital, and she was put on a ventilator.

The last thing she said to me was she loved me and didn’t want me to leave her side. She was scared.

By the time I made it to Fargo to her side, they already had her in a medically induced coma to help her. I stayed in her room with her, taking turns with another family member so that someone would always be at her side at all times.

By October 1, I was really getting tired and not really wanting to eat, but I was more thinking that was because of the stress and everything going on. I noticed food did not have any taste, and then on October 4, my family noticed how tired I was just walking a few feet to the elevator.

So I went to the ER in Fargo and was tested for COVID. It came back positive. My breathing was in the low 80% on room oxygen, so I was hospitalized across town from my daughter. When I called my family to tell them I was positive, I could hear the concern in their voice.

The nurses set up a camera so I could see my daughter in the hospital across town, all I wanted. I would be in my hospital bed calling my daughter’s nurse for updates and looking at my daughter on the camera.

Then, on October 6, 2020, I watched as the hospital staff turned the camera away from my daughter and to the floor. I called her nurse right away, wanting to know what was going on.

After a little bit, her doctor got on the phone and told me that my daughter Elvia had passed away.

They held the phone by her ear so I could tell her I loved her and how much she meant to me.

After that, in my hospital room, I had to start making phone calls notifying my family about my daughter.

I was able to leave the hospital on October 8 because I had funeral arrangements to make. I was not completely ok, but my breathing was over 90% on room oxygen.

It took a few months to get my taste back to normal, and my asthma is worse now than before.

I am a single mother of 9 kids and work hard for my family. My family and I are now trying to find our new normal and are hopeful that everyone will get the vaccine.

Please get the shot. Don’t wait until it’s too late.