A Phoenix soccer coach, his mother, and his wife died from COVID-19 complications, all in December, according to reports from local news stations. Fred and Sandra Delgado were childhood sweethearts who got married when they were both 18 years old. Their 46-year marriage ended when Sandra died on December 7, from COVID-19 complications. Fred died on Sunday, according to their son’s Facebook post, Ktar reports.
Before her death, Sandra Delgado worked at the Maricopa County courts for over three decades while her husband was a soccer coach. Their daughter, Jennifer Grady, and their son Freddy Delgado Jnr. told reporters how close their parents were even after they got infected. Grady said that her parents saw themselves as a team and believed they could overcome their diagnosis together.
“They always told us, ‘we’re a team, we’re going to overcome this together,” Grady said. “They did fight it together, and left the field together, hand in hand.”
Between December 7 and December 20, the Delgado family also lost Lidia Delgado, Fred Snr’s mother. Freddy told reporters how devastated the family is after suffering from the loss of three members within a very short period.
“We are really devastated over the losses, my father was more than a soccer coach, he taught us how to relate with people without problems,” Freddy said during an interview. “He taught us to treat people with the utmost respect, to show love to all, and he taught us humility.”
A former member of Fred Snr’s team, Chris Popoca also wrote a tribute to his late coach on Facebook. Popoca described how Fred had nurtured all the players under his tutelage, teaching them to be confident and proud of all their achievements, regardless of whether it was little or huge, Sacbee writes.
Freddy stated in the Facebook post that he and Jennifer were with Fred Snr during his final moments. The family’s other son, who could not be at the hospital physically, also witnessed the final moment of their father via Facetime. Other members of the family also prayed for Fred virtually, shortly before he passed. Fred and Sandra are survived by three children and six grandkids.
Arizona is currently suffering from a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections with over 6,000 new cases reported on December 25, over 2,000 more than the figure recorded in the previous day in the state. On Christmas day alone, the state reported 115 COVID-related fatalities. In total, 486,935 people have contracted COVID-19, with 8,409 people losing the battle to the infectious disease in Arizona.
Health officials of the state reported that at least 976 COVID-19 patients are in the intensive care unit, a record for the state since the pandemic, which has caused 1.7 million deaths, began late last year. According to Johns Hopkins University, 78 million people have contracted COVID-19 all over the world. The United States has recorded more than 326,000 fatalities with over 18 million cases.
Source: ktar.com
