U.S.

Chicago family loses grandfather, father to COVID within a week; community raises $40K to help

January 13, 2021. Summarized by summa-bot.

Compression ratio: 83.8%. 2 min read.

A Chicago family is mourning the deaths of two loved ones from COVID-19 within a week.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago family is mourning the deaths of two loved ones from COVID-19 within a week. Hung Nguyen was the rock of a very close family.

Hung was also hospitalized and on a ventilator at Community First Medical Center on the city's Northwest Side, clinging to life as his family held services for his father.

Minutes after the service ended, Hung also died. "It was very spiritual," Trang Nguyen said.

"My dad was able to give everything he got to his final, last breath. "RELATED: Mt. Prospect family mourns loss of patriarch to COVID-19Trang's father brought the family to Chicago to escape Vietnam in the early 1990s.

Hung had to learn a new language and culture, but this is where he met his future wife, got a master's degree in civil engineering and raised three children. The family is now devastated by the loss of both patriarchs at once, but they've been raised up by the community, which has supported them and raised about $40,000 to help with medical expenses. "When my grandfather passed away, we really got to see the amount of people that he personally touched," Trang said. RELATED: 'It just ate her through': Tinley Park teen dies from COVID-19 The entire family shared a house on the Northwest Side, and everyone in the house tested positive for COVID-19.

The symptoms were most severe for Phuoc and Hung. "It was pretty difficult with my dad quarantining in the master bedroom and my mother going into my brother's room," Trang said. RELATED: Chicago teen who died of COVID-19 had no health issues, family saidThey also struggled to communicate with both men, unable to visit them in-person at the hospital.

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