After losing father, grandmother to COVID-19, CA family seeks lung transplant for their mother
A sister and brother from Koreatown are in desperate need of a lung transplant for their mother after their father and grandmother died from the novel coronavirus.
KOREATOWN, LOS ANGELES -- A family who lost two family members to COVID-19 is in desperate need of a lung transplant for their mother due to the virus.
The Kim's are a tight-knit family living in Koreatown in Los Angeles, California. Hannah, 22, says they were happy up until two months ago.
Hannah says her family became infected with COVID-19 and didn't know it.
Hannah and her 17-year-old brother Joe had mild symptoms, a cough and sore throat. But she says COVID-19 hit her parents and her grandmother hard.
"She couldn't breathe and that was the same for my dad," Hannah says. "They both couldn't breathe."
Her father, Timothy, an acupuncture doctor and pastor, died in the hospital. He was 68.
"I love my dad so much, my brother loves my dad so much and we think about him every single day," Hannah says.
The novel coronavirus also took the life of her 85-year-old grandmother one week after entering the hospital.
Hannah says her mother started getting better after receiving the drug remdesivir. But then she too took a turn for the worse.
"Her lungs are failing. Her lungs are not working," Hannah says.
Her mother is now in need of a lung transplant. She remains in the hospital.
"This is a really lonely time for my brother and I," Hannah says. "We don't have our parents at home."
Hannah says how they contracted COVID-19 is still not known.
"We never ate out. We didn't touch anything," she says. "We always sanitized everything, but my whole family got it. It's serious. This virus is no joke."
Hannah is a Cal State LA student, and her brother hoped to apply to college next year. Adding to their challenges, Hannah says the building where they live is about to be demolished. They must find another home by August.
A GoFundMe page was setup to help them with expenses. Their father was the main income earner.
Hannah says she's grateful for those who have donated.
"It just spread so far, and we're so thankful," she says.
