SAN ANTONIO – Plainview resident Miquela Hinojosa, also known as Mickie, has been battling COVID-19 since November.
“Her daughter was over it within a couple of days, and she thought maybe she was going to be the same way,” said Andy Hinojosa, Miquela’s brother.
Andy said his sister was taken to an emergency room on Nov. 24, 2020.
“They did blood tests, I think at 1 o’clock in the morning. She texted me saying that she had COVID pneumonia,” Andy said.
Andy said doctors told Miquela they needed to send her to a hospital to treat her worsening condition and transferred her to San Antonio.
Miquela has been at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in the Medical Center.
“She went to the ICU for 21 days, between 21 to 23 days. Then, she got a tracheotomy, and then less than a week, she was transferred over to just a COVID wing,” Andy said.
Andy said his sister is still dealing with many symptoms, including fatigue and a cough.
“She talks to the kids, but I mean, short periods of time,” Andy Hinojosa said.
The family hopes their story will help someone.
“I think everybody should take it seriously. We took it seriously, but it took it to a whole new level when I had all my family members go to ICU,” Andy said.
“She has been through so much, and there are so many people that are here for her that miss her,” said Amethyst Mitchell, daughter of Miquela Hinojosa.
A spokesperson for Christus Health said that, with the spike in COVID cases, they had seen an increase in calls from out of the region. Many community facilities are at capacity and unable to manage the volume or complexity of patients at their facilities.
Christus Health has a South Texas Transfer Center that manages approximately 2,000 requests a month. Patients are accepted to a South Texas Christus facility if the hospital system can manage at the time of the request.
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