Photo: GoFundMe
A California woman who made headlines more than two decades ago when she gave birth to twins while in a coma has died fromCOVID-19complications.
Maria Lydia Hernandez Lopez — a mother of five — died of coronavirus on Jan. 20 after an “intense fight,” her family said on aGoFundMeset up in her name. She celebrated her 47th birthday in November andwas diagnosed with the airborne diseaseearlier this month.
The family said Lopez struggled with health problems for years and made frequent trips to the hospital. One of these hospitalizations occurred in 1999, when she experienced a brain hemorrhage while pregnant.
According toKABC, doctors at the time didn’t believe she would recover — but, miraculously, her two daughters were successfully delivered before she woke up. The family said on GoFundMe that she had been unconscious for 47 days.
“To this day, there’s no medical explanation on how she survived or the twins,” Sylvia Hernandez, Lopez’s sister, told the news station.
The family is hoping to raise money to pay hospital fees and memorial costs. They have since raised just over $4,600.
“We were blessed and lucky enough to have her for an additional 22 years,” the family said onGoFundMe. “In times like these, it is especially hard for our family to cope with not being able to have touched her and physically being there for her during her final hospital stay.”
As of Monday afternoon, there have been more than 26.2 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to aNew York Timesdatabase. There have also been 442,030 coronavirus-related deaths in the country, with numbers rising every day.
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“When I’d seen her in the hospital, I knew she was suffering and that was breaking my heart,” Lopez’s daughter, Adahli, told KABC.
Added Sylvia: “Her absence is definitely being felt. … But I know she’s in a better place and I know we’ll see her again.”
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
