3 members of unvaccinated North Texas family in same hospital after contracting COVID-19
Three unvaccinated family members are in the same hospital after contracting COVID-19.
"It’s hard to sleep because I am dreaming about my children and worry about them," Sophia Rich said.
Rich is confined to her Leonard home after the 55-year-old tested positive for COVID-19.
Her three children are all in a McKinney hospital
"It was like 24-48 [hours] and all my kids were in the hospital, and life for my family stopped," she added.
The youngest is Brian. He’s 21 and on a ventilator, while 30-year-old Michael and 37-year-old Abigail are both down the hall, both on oxygen.
The whole family is not vaccinated
"We thought we were so careful, we didn’t pursue it aggressively enough," Rich said.
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"We are absolutely seeing entire family units admitted," Dr. Mark Casanova said.
North Texas hospitals are stretched thin.
Saturday, the DFW Hospital Council reported that more than 3,500 COVID-19 patients are in North Texas hospitals.
According to Baylor Scott & White, 92% of patients are unvaccinated.
Across North Texas, 128 children are hospitalized with COVID-19, which is a new record, and for the fourth day in a row, no staffed pediatric ICU beds are available.
RELATED: Overwhelmed Cook Children's doctors make desperate plea as COVID-19 delta variant surge continues
This week, Cook Children's in Fort Worth opened a third COVID-19 unit. Within 24 hours, it was full.
Dr. Casanova said some children in the ICU are being forced to wait for a pediatric bed.
"Children are being cared for in a variety of adult ERs across town. We refer to it as bedding them until and if we can get them transferred to a pediatric institute," he said. "We continue to shout from the roof tops, get vaccinated and wear your mask."
Saturday, a slow trickle of vehicles took advantage of a pop-up vaccination clinic at Fair Park.
An opportunity Rich said she wishes she would’ve taken.
She’s now hoping it’s not too late for her family and other families.
"Don’t let anything stop you. Get your family vaccinated," she said. "It can save your whole family from so much pain."