Frontliner loses his mom to COVID-19 while he was recovering from the disease

A Filipino doctor in Las Vegas lost his 100-year-old mother to the coronavirus while he himself was still recovering from the disease.

In an episode of "Frontliners," a Brigada special online series, Cesar Noel Estillore  shared how much it hurt that he couldn't say goodbye to his mom.

His family initially did not tell him about her passing, so he had no idea that she was already gone.

"I had to keep telling my Dad that, whenever he asked about grandma, I said, 'She's okay, natutulog lang siya higaan niya,'" said his son LA. "We had to keep it a secret for a long time."

Cesar works as a Family Nurse Practitioner, so he was worried about possibly bringing home the virus when the pandemic hit. He was especially concerned for his mother, who had a pulmonary embolism and breast cancer.

When he developed symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19, he called his sister in Tennessee to look after their mother while he was at the hospital.

Cesar himself had co-morbidities—he is asthmatic, hypertensive, obese, and pre-diabetic, so he knew that the situation was not looking good for him.

"Sa ospital they're labelling me as a 'goner' kasi ang bumubuhay lang sa akin 'yung gamot," he said. "Nagka-pneumonia ako severe, nagka-UTI ako, nagkaroon ako ng acute kidney failure."

Meanwhile, his mother and his son got themselves tested for the virus. His mom turned out to be positive and she was already very weak at that time.

Cesar was later told that she kept asking for him when he was intubated and fighting for his life.

"Especially 'yung last week bago siya namatay, hinahanap niya 'ko araw-araw. Umiiyak siya kung bakit ako wala," he said.

No one was expecting Cesar to survive, but a miracle seemingly happened: his vital signs suddenly normalized and he was eventually extubated.

His caregivers could not explain it, but he thinks it was all thanks to his mother.

"Most likely, nung namatay siya, she probably whispered to the Lord na, 'Bigyan mo naman ng second chance 'yung anak ko,'" he said.

While he was recovering, that was when he received the painful news. 

"Noong nagpapaalam na lang 'yung ate ko, sabi niya, 'O, kailangan na kong bumalik kasi pinapapasok na ko sa trabaho.' Pa'no naman si mother? Sino mag-aalaga sa kaniya?"

"Merong tatlo o limang segundo na hindi siya makasagot," he said. "Sabi ko, oops, alam ko na. Sabi ko, 'Ate, alam ko na.'"

On Mother's Day, he prayed and thanked the Lord that his mom was already free from pain and sickness.

"I was thanking the Lord na, 'Lord thank you, for giving me such a very kind and very loving mother,'" he said. "'Alam ko she is with You in paradise and in Heaven.'" —MGP, GMA News