23-year-old man dies from COVID-19 two days after daughter is born

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG / WECP / Gray News) – A 23-year-old man is not returning home with his family, including his newborn baby girl, after losing his long battle with COVID-19 on Sunday.

WJHG reported that his family did not want him to be remembered as another person lost to the virus.

With the recent increase in hospitalizations related to COVID-19, it’s clear that it can infect anyone, anytime, in any way.

“It’s heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking, ”said Stephanie Gibson.

Heartbreak. That’s how Gibson feels after the death of his brother, Miguel Gonzalez, who lost his battle with COVID-19.

“He enjoyed being a joker and joking around with everyone,” Gibson said.

Gonzalez has also been described as being in good health with no underlying medical conditions when he contracted COVID-19 a few weeks ago. The symptoms started with diarrhea and vomiting.

“When he first went to the doctor, they told him it was stomach flu. They haven’t tested him for COVID or anything because of these symptoms, ”Gibson said.

But her symptoms did not improve.

When he returned to the doctor, “they told him he had an upper respiratory infection, pneumonia,” Gibson said.

That’s when they tested him for COVID-19.

A week later, Gonzalez was admitted to the Gulf Coast Regional ISU.

“It was really bad,” Gibson said.

That night he was on a ventilator. It would be plugged in for the next 13 days.

“He wasn’t doing well. His fevers were high. They were 104 and 105 years old. They couldn’t get his fever down, ”Gibson said.

Miguel passed away last Sunday. His family released balloons Thursday to pay tribute to him.

The family’s message: It can happen to anyone.

“Being in their intensive care unit, I saw it. It’s not just the elderly. It also takes a lot of youngsters, ”Gibson said.

And she wants people to realize that everyone has different symptoms.

“Take precautions. Don’t let things go wrong until, unfortunately, you go to the emergency room, they can’t help you anymore, ”Gibson said.

She said she hoped people would take the right precautions so that they didn’t have to feel the same grief.

Just two days before her death, Gonzalez’s fiancé underwent an emergency cesarean for their second daughter.

Gibson believes his brother fought until the baby was safe to deliver.

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