SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento family is calling for the public to take the COVID-19 spike seriously after losing a beloved sister and mother on Christmas Day.
Andrea Willis died on Christmas due to complications from COVID, leaving behind three children.
"She was a super hero," said her sister, Tyra Willis, who said her sister's children were her world: 18-year-old Gabrielle, 15-year-old Ahmad, and 12-year-old Mylea.
Tyra and brother Latroy Gates said Andrea showed by example how to take on life's challenges with a smile, or song and dance.
"She was a fighter, you know?" Tyra said.
"When she got sick, it was very hard for us as a family," Gates said.
Andrea and her entire family were vaccinated against COVID, but she fought conditions like lupus, diabetes, and fibromyalgia. When she contracted a breakthrough case of COVID in October 2021, she ended up at Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center and on a ventilator for weeks.
"COVID, unfortunately, along with pneumonia damaged both of her lungs, and with her underlying health conditions she couldn’t fight anymore," Tyra said.
Surviving family members are leaning on each other to get through, but with yet another wave of COVID-19 driving a new spike in infections, they are calling on others to protect themselves to save people like Andrea.
"If it’s not important for you, at least make it important for others around you, because you don’t know who has underlying health conditions and who is important to who," Tyra said.
The family is seeking funds to help pay for funeral costs and provide for Andrea's children. Donate here.
