HIALEAH, Fla. — Two South Florida doctors, who are also father and son, have both died of coronavirus.
Dr. Carlos Vallejo, 57, and his father, Dr. Jorge Vallejo, 89, were hospitalized on Father's Day. Carlos' son, Charlie says they died five weeks apart. Their family says neither of them had preexisting conditions.
Dr. Carlos Vallejo had been working on the front lines of the pandemic when he was hospitalized. His daughter, Gisselle Vellejo, 31, told the Miami Herald most of his patients were elderly nursing home residents.
“He really was a hero to so many people. I didn’t even want him to go to the nursing home and the hospitals because I was terrified,” Gisselle Vallejo said. “He wanted to be loyal. It was like he was available for them 24/7. He really was the true definition of a hero. I knew that when COVID started, that he was going to be a hero.”
Carlos is one of more than 900 healthcare workers in the U.S. who have died from COVID-19 while treating patients with the virus. His father, Jorge, died on June 27. In an interview with CNN, Carlos' son Charlie said his father learned the news over Facetime.
"(He was) surrounded by machines and no human contact so I think that kind of broke him," said Charlie Vallejo, Carlos's son.
Carlos spent three weeks in the ICU, 2 of them on a ventilator, before dying on August 1, just five weeks after his father.
Dr. Jorge Vallejo moved his family, including 2-year-old Carlos, to Miami from Cuba in 1965, according to CNN. All three of Jorge's sons studied medicine. At the time of his death, Dr. Jorge Vallejo had practiced more than 45 years as an obstetrician and gynecologist. He's known for delivering one of the smallest babies in the world, a 5-pound "Miracle Baby" born at just 22-weeks, according to CNN.
Jessica Vallejo, the niece and grandchild of the two doctors, has been reporting on the pandemic for CBS4 News. She says the deaths of her family members, while others are still sick, hits especially hard.
“We just lost basically both of our anchors of our whole entire family,” Jessica Vallejo told the Miami Herald. “In my eyes, [my grandfather] was the American Dream.”
Jessica's parents survived the virus. Five other members of the Vallejo family, including Carlos' wife, contracted coronavirus. The family has not given an update on how they're doing.
Carlos youngest son, Kevin Vallejo, 23, told the Miami Herald he plans to follow his father's footsteps to medical school. He's postponed his start date at Florida International University to mourn his dad.
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