More Fil-Ams who died on US Covid front line

More than 3,600 U.S. health care workers perished in the first year of the pandemic, according to “Lost on the Frontline,” a 12-month investigation by The Guardian and KHN to track such deaths.

Lost on the Frontline is the most complete accounting of U.S. health care worker deaths. The federal government has not comprehensively tracked this data. Here are more Filipino Americans lost on the front line.

He loved his family, music and cooking

Lazaro Duremdes, 64

Administrator/Administrative support

Laguna Treatment hospital, Huntington Beach, Calif.

November 17, 2020

Raised in Okinawa, Japan, Lazaro Duremdes was a Filipino-Japanese American who adored his wife, Nancy, and their children, Alex and Olivia. He had a passion for cooking, especially when stressed. “My job was to keep him as stressed as possible,” Nancy said. “Because we loved his cooking.”

A driver and intake clerk at the Laguna Treatment hospital, Duremdes picked up patients at the airport, helped them settle into the facility and drove them to Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

Nancy said her husband was provided protective gear at work. On 17 November, Duremdes initially tested negative for the virus. Later the same day,, he was struggling to breathe and nearly fell asleep at the wheel, his wife said. Instead of coming home, he drove to Orange Coast medical center and was admitted. There he tested positive for Covid-19.

Duremdes was later transferred to Providence St Joseph Hospital Orange. He had lost 40 pounds and his lungs were badly damaged, his wife said. On 3 January, Nancy and their children surrounded him as his ventilator was removed. They played Eric Clapton’s, Tears in Heaven for him.

Duremdes’ workplace sent flowers, food and raised money for the family, but Nancy wants answers from the clinic. “With all the protective gear, how did he possibly catch the virus?” she said. – Sadia Rafiquddin

Nurse juggled two jobs and school

Rowena “Wendy” Miguel, 53

Nurse

Kindred hospital and Imperial Convalescent hospital, La Mirada, Calif.

January, 8, 2021

Rowena “Wendy” Miguel began her nursing career in the Philippines, seeing the field as “a gateway to a good life”, son Ken said.

In Southern California, where she settled her young family, she juggled two jobs, at Kindred hospital and at Imperial Convalescent hospital. When she wasn’t working a shift, she was studying to become a registered nurse, her son said.

Two weeks before Christmas, Miguel began experiencing chills and a high fever. She was hospitalized after testing positive for Covid-19 and needed a respirator to help with breathing, Ken said. She was discharged, he said, to recuperate at home.

On the evening of 23 December, she fell in the bathroom and couldn’t stand on her own, Ken said. He and his father rushed her to the emergency room. She was admitted to the intensive care unit and intubated, he said.

On 8 January, Ken said, the family was notified that Miguel had gone into cardiac arrest. Two days later, she died.

Ken, 22, said his mother encouraged him to follow her career. “During our last conversation before she passed away, she said, ‘Study hard and become a nurse.’ I’ve latched onto how caring she is, and I’m going to hold onto that forever,” said Ken, who is pursuing a degree in health care administration. – Christina Oriel

‘Mama Amy’ to Her Team

Amelia Baclig, 63

Nurse

Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina, Calif.

January 22, 2021

For almost 30 years, Amelia Baclig was known as “Mama Amy” to the team at Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina.

Baclig, 63, kept fellow nurses well-fed and well cared for and served as a beloved mentor to younger members of the team. “She just cared,” said Daisy Martinez, a friend and fellow nurse. “She just gave her all.”

On Jan. 22, Baclig became the first nurse from Queen of the Valley to die from COVID-19 complications. She was infected at least six weeks earlier, before she had a chance to be vaccinated. – Tim Haddock