(Trends Wide) — Daniel and Davy Macias spent 18 months being very wary of COVID-19.
They cleaned surfaces, showered after work, and even brought them groceries, but that didn’t stop them from contracting the virus.
Davy Macias, a delivery nurse from Southern California, was seven months pregnant with her fifth child in early August when she was hospitalized with COVID-19. Daniel Macias also contracted the virus.
Doctors helped 37-year-old Davy Macias deliver early by cesarean section while she was intubated, but she died before she could meet her baby.
Daniel Macias, 38, was being treated at the same hospital when he learned of the birth of his daughter. Nurses showed him photos of the baby, before he too died of complications from the virus less than two weeks later, leaving the newborn girl without parents or a name.
Daniel and Davy Macias with their four children. A fifth, a girl, was born after both parents were hospitalized for COVID-19.
When the hospital called to ask the baby’s name, Terry Macias, the grandmother who now cares for the five children, told them, “I’ll wait for my son to name him.”
She doesn’t have a name yet. For now, as the hospital did, the family calls her Baby Girl.
Grandma explains death to young children
Davy and Daniel were not vaccinated and died on August 26 and September 9, respectively, orphaning their children between 3 weeks and 8 years of age, Macias told Trends Wide on Monday.
“It’s not that they didn’t want to get vaccinated, they planned it,” he said. She insisted that it was a personal choice and that each wanted to learn more about their safety before being inoculated.
Terry Macias, a recently retired kindergarten teacher, believes her son and daughter-in-law contracted the coronavirus after a recent family trip to an indoor water park as the last outing before back to school.
Upon learning of his death, Macias had to tell his grandchildren. The 8-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl understood that their parents were gone, she said, but she’s not sure they understand that their parents will never come home.
The couple’s 3-year-old daughter woke up Thursday and told Macias that she had dreamed that her father was coming home from the hospital, but later learned that her father had died.
The girl burst into tears when she heard the news, reminding her grandmother of her dream.
“I know baby, but sometimes, our dreams don’t come true,” Macias said.
The couple sold their home before the pandemic
Davy and Daniel Macias sold their house just before the pandemic closed normal life and the family lived with Daniel’s parents.
Terry Macias described his daughter-in-law as artistic and creative. He loved to keep the kids busy with crafts and activities, often inviting kids from the neighborhood to join him.
Her son, a high school math teacher, was someone she called “the perfect one.” Macias said that he always had a smile on his face and that everyone liked him, as evidenced by the great amount of support, specifically from his school community.
“In my heart, I always knew that he was the perfect guy. Seeing others feel him the same way feels like validation,” he said. “They loved their children more than anything.”
The family remains shocked by the sudden loss of Davy and Daniel Macias.
“We didn’t see it coming,” Terry Macias said through tears. “The covid does not discriminate. It is the luck of the draw and it can happen to anyone.”
