Teenager is now the guardian of his four siblings, aged seven to 15, after their mother died from COVID
A California teenager has been forced to care for his four younger siblings after their mother passed away from the coronavirus.
JuanJose Martinez from Palmdale near Los Angeles lost his mother, 43-year-old Brenda Martinez, after the entire family tested positive for the disease in August.
Everyone was asymptomatic for the virus except Juan and his mom.
He experienced many of the symptoms commonly associated with coronavirus such as cough, fever and chills.
JuanJose Martinez, 19, from Palmdale, California is raising his young siblings on his own after his 43-year-old mother, Brenda, left, passed away from COVID-19 in August
Juan Jose Martinez contracted the virus in August along with his five young siblings and his 43-year-old mother Brenda Lopez, some of whom are pictured here
A few days into their isolation, Brenda's condition suddenly worsened and she began to have trouble breathing and was taken to Palmdale Regional Medical Center where she became unresponsive and placed onto a ventilator.
Tragically, things did not improve. Brenda's lungs collapsed and then her kidneys failed.
After a week in the hospital, she passed away.
'I feel like she's at peace and she put up a fight, honestly. I was just a big brother and then after my mother passed, I became a father, mother and a big brother at the same time,' said Juan to Fox LA.
Brenda's death came as a huge shock to the family, particularly as she only seemed to initially be suffering from mild COVID symptoms.
Juan, who is only 19, and was already battling his own sickness automatically became caretaker to his five siblings aged between 2 and 15 who were all suddenly without their mother.
The two-year-old went to live with his father, but Juan has been left looking after the rest of them.
Despite the heartache, he appears to have taken on the role with gusto and now cleans and helps his siblings with their online schooling.
Martinez said his mother was fine at the beginning with a cough but her conditions quickly worsened and she passed away within a week
The famiy have been devastated by the loss of their mom. Juan says sometimes they sit down and all cry together
'It's still hard on them, but I try to comfort them the best way I can,' Juan said to NBC News. 'At times we all cry together.'
It is still hard for the family to wrap their head around what has happened to their matriarch.
'She was just always careful. She would usually stay home and took extra precautions,' Juan said about his mom, who was diabetic. 'She would always wear a mask when she stepped out. She would always sanitize.'
Without the children's father around to help, bills have started to pile up.
The family set up a GoFundMe account in an attempt to cover basic expenses and have managed to raise $75,000. A second fundraiser has now raised an additional $88,000 for the family and children aged 2, 7, 8, 9 and 15-years-old.
'I promised my mother that I will keep my siblings together and take care of them,' Juan wrote on the site.
'I'm making sure they're good health-wise, and making sure they're up to date with doctor's appointments, dentists and stuff like that,' he said to Fox.
Juan has applied for welfare after having to quit his job as a security guard to care for his siblings full-time.
'At first, it was pretty emotional. There was a lot of screaming and crying but I managed to calm them down and told them everything was going to be fine and I wasn't going to let anything happen to them,' he said.
Juan's younger siblings all appear to appreciate the work their older brother is putting in
Although the two-year-old is not living with his siblings, Juan is still having to look after the other four children and has quit his job a security guard
15-year-old Jovanna is pictured with her mother, Brenda, shortly before she contracted COVID
The children also appear to be appreciative of their big brother.
'I love how supportive he is and is just doing the best that he can for all of us at the moment. I just love the fact that I can turn around and I can talk to him, just like I would with my mom. It's been really hard. It's different from a woman and a guy to talk to without having my mom to talk to, but at the end of the day, at least I still have an older brother to look up to,' said Jovanna, who is 15.
'He's great and he's a big brother to us. He loves us and he takes care of us,' said 9-year-old Nereyda.
'What I love the most about my brother is that he takes very good care of us. He cooks for us and he's a really good brother,' said Valentin who is 8.
'He washes our clothes. He feeds us every day. He cares about us. He takes care of us every day, because our mom is not here,' 7-year-old Ramiro said.
'My nephew is grateful because this is a lot while he's making these decisions for his mom and taking care of his siblings,' friend of the family Crystal Acosta Torres said on GoFundMe. 'It's hard for the family, and we want to thank everyone for helping where they can.'
Juan who is now fully recovered but eventually contracted pneumonia as a result of having the virus is now urging others to take the coronavirus seriously.
'It's serious. It took our mother from us and I'd hate for something like this to happen to anyone else,' he said.
Juan says that it has upset him to see people not taking sensible and simple precautions such as mask wearing and social distancing.
He noted that his mother had an underlying health condition which placed her at greater risk from the coronavirus after contracting the disease.
'There's times when I go out to the store and I've seen a couple people not wearing their mask,' he said to NBC Los Angeles.
'I just hope people take their precautions,' he warned. 'It's no joke.'
His mother caught the disease when California was at its peak in coronavirus cases.
August was the state's deadliest month with 3,745 deaths, up 10% from July.
Juan hopes to keep his mother's memory alive by keeping her ashes in six specially created necklaces - one for each of Brenda's children.
'I plan to just move forward with them the best way I can, to provide the best way I can,' he said.
A separate GoFundMe has also been set up for the two-year-old sibling who is now living with his father away from the other five kids.
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