Castañeda is the Community Opinion Editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune. She lives in Chula Vista. @presspasslc on Twitter
I go through the motions, day to day, with a heavy, queasy, sad and almost inconsolable feeling inside my soul.
As people all over the world started getting sick during this pandemic, I worried about friends and family in San Diego and Mexico and also about my loved ones in my home state of Illinois, especially those with underlying health conditions. But in every phone call, they promised they were staying safe.
Things can change so quickly.
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In August, I learned that my dad, Ignacio, and my stepmother, Josefina, tested positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Both have underlying health conditions. For three weeks, I heard my father’s voice grow weaker and weaker. At night, I had only silent tears and prayer to cling to.