Don't Be Like MY Family!

‘Please, don’t be like my family’
Arlington family warns others not to gather after 15 relatives test positive for COVID-19
By Dana Branham
Staff Writer
dana.branham@dallasnews.com

The Aragonez family doesn’t want others to make the same mistake they did.
The tight-knit Arlington family had taken care to protect themselves from COVID-19. They kept their social circle small. They avoided bars and restaurants.
But they got together Nov. 1 to celebrate a birthday over fajitas and cake. While they didn’t plan to gather indoors, people gravitated toward the living room and kitchen — and they didn’t wear masks.
Within days, all 12 relatives who attended had contracted the virus, along with three family members who didn’t attend, said 26-year-old Alexa Aragonez. Those who got sick include children and those in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
“We thought that taking care of ourselves — washing our hands, wearing a mask, not going to high-risk situations, disinfecting our homes on a regular basis, not going to church — we thought all of these things were enough to keep us safe and still allowed us the flexibility to gather,” she said. “Unfortunately, that obviously is not the case.”
The Aragonez family crafted a public service announcement video urging others to do what they didn’t: stay away from gatherings with people outside your household, even when it’s tempting to let your guard down around loved ones.
“Please, don’t be like my family and ignore the CDC guidelines,” Aragonez says in the video, shared by the city of Arlington. “By staying apart, we can fight this virus together.”
Aragonez wasn’t at the gathering that day and has not contracted COVID-19. But her mother and the matriarch of the family, 57-year-old Enriqueta Aragonez, was among those who attended and got sick.
She was later hospitalized in the intensive care unit during her fight against COVID-19 after developing pneumonia in both lungs, her daughter said.
In the video, her mother speaks from a hospital bed, a cannula in her nose to deliver oxygen.
“I went to my nephew’s house and love seeing my family,” Enriqueta Aragonez said. “But now, I’m fighting against COVID-19.”
She battled 103-degree fever for five days before she was hospitalized, her daughter said.
The night her mother was admitted, her family was on FaceTime with each other, Alexa Aragonez said.
“All of us were just bawling. Because we were scared,” she said. “We were preparing for the worst — hoping for the best, but truly preparing for the worst — like, what would happen if my mother passed?”
Aragonez said she never thought she’d consider that question at 26.
“At 26, I hope that my mother one day will see me have a partner and get married and maybe have children,” she said. “I’m not thinking about losing my mother, or a majority of my family.”
Her mother was in the hospital for a week before she was allowed to return home, where she’s still fatigued and hasn’t regained her senses of taste and smell.
But her family knows she’s on the mend, because she’s starting to make crafts again, her daughter said.
“My family is doing much better than we were a few weeks ago,” Aragonez said.
Knowing what her family has been through, Aragonez said it’s especially worrisome to see other families go ahead with plans to congregate at Thanksgiving.
Her family normally spends Thanksgiving with at least 30 people packed in her mother’s home all day, she said. This year, they’ll make adjustments — each family member will make their signature side dish, then do a contactless drop off at relatives’ homes to share. They’ll all watch the Cowboys game in their separate homes, then gather virtually later in the night for a family Zoom.
“Waiting a couple of months, a year, of not seeing each other can help guarantee even more Christmases, even more holidays, and more time together with the family,” she said. “We just have to keep pushing through, because the pandemic will end eventually. We just gotta stick with it.”