{"id":144,"date":"2020-10-16T18:24:35","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T18:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/?p=144"},"modified":"2020-10-19T14:11:35","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T14:11:35","slug":"covid-19-recovery-as-a-community-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/2020\/10\/16\/covid-19-recovery-as-a-community-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 recovery as a community effort"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Pastor Ismael Cisneros tested positive for COVID-19, he not only suffered physically, but also mentally and financially. He credits his recovery to his church community. (English voiceover by Cameron Williams)
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Ismael Cisneros contracted COVID-19, he had to contend with financial instability along with deteriorating physical and mental health. His lungs weren\u2019t taking in enough oxygen. He had a constant fever, sore throat and body aches. Along with the pain, he worried about what would happen if his health continued to worsen and he had to go to the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to go to the hospital due to the high costs,\u201d said Cisneros. \u201cI don\u2019t have insurance or the money to pay for something like that, so it did worry me a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ismael and his wife Veronica Cisneros pose for a photo while visiting San Francisco. (Photo courtesy of Veronica Cisneros)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cisneros isn\u2019t alone in his concerns. Some COVID-19 survivors who sought hospital treatment faced staggering bills upon release from their doctor\u2019s care and long-term health effects, despite the federal government\u2019s promises to cover the costs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cisneros didn\u2019t just worry about medical expenses. During his illness, he struggled to pay for groceries and cover the rent for the home that he shares with eight other family members, including his grandchildren. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ismael Cisneros and his grandchildren, Mario and Isai, pose for a photo in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. (Photo courtesy of Veronica Cisneros)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All nine members of the Cisneros household tested positive for COVID-19 in July. His son was the first to test positive, on July 4, and everyone in the household exhibited symptoms. Cisneros\u2019s symptoms lasted longer and were more severe than those of his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My son told me, \u2018Dad, the way I saw you, I was expecting that my mom would knock on my door and tell me you passed away.\u2019 That\u2019s how bad I looked.<\/p>Ismael Cisneros<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He had a hard recovery from COVID-19, but he could only miss two weeks from his job as an auto mechanic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not have a fixed salary. I work as a contractor,\u201d said Cisneros. \u201cIf I don\u2019t work today, I don\u2019t earn any money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after his diagnosis, the church where Cisneros is an associate pastor, Iglesia Vida<\/a> in Sacramento, stepped up to support his family. Every day, church members left prepared meals and groceries on the front porch of his house. And Iglesia Vida\u2019s head pastor suggested to Cisneros that he open a Venmo account, in case people wanted to offer financial support directly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ismael and Veronica Cisneros have been attending Vida Church in Sacramento for 10 years. The pair also serve as associate pastors. (Photo courtesy of Veronica Cisneros)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think they were going to help that much,\u201d said Cisneros, but the donations paid his rent for the month he was sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All over California, non-profit and religious organizations have assumed the role of aiding communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially true for Latinx communities<\/a>, which face health and socioeconomic challenges, and for some, a language barrier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graphic by Adriana Morga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of other Latinx people in the state, like Cisneros, don\u2019t have health insurance and work for essential businesses that require showing up to their jobs in person<\/a>. Many cannot afford to skip a paycheck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Oct. 15 Latinx communities in California are experiencing the highest death rates from COVID-19\u2014more than double that of white people, according to data from the California Department of Public Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(From left to right) Samuel Cisneros, Yvonne Cisneros, Veronica Cisneros and Ismael Cisneros pose in front of the family Christmas tree in Rancho Cordova. (Photo courtesy of Veronica Cisneros)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cisneros says he took all the precautions he could, such as keeping a supply of gloves in his car for trips to the grocery store. Despite these efforts, he believes he was exposed through his son\u2019s co-worker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now recovered, Cisneros is using his experience to advise those around him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want anyone to experience what I went through,\u201d said Cisneros. He tells everyone he meets: \u201cCover yourself. This is a disease that can either be just having a fever for a day and that\u2019s it, or it can take you to the grave.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A local pastor reflects on how he and his family recovered from COVID-19 with the support of his church. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":397,"featured_media":147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[9],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capradio2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}