Mother of 4 dies of COVID weeks after losing husband to the virus

LA MARQUE, Texas (KTRK) -- A widow and mother of four died Monday after a month-long battle with COVID-19, the woman's cousin told Eyewitness News.

The video above is from a previous story.

Lydia Rodriguez lost her husband, Lawrence, to the virus at the beginning of August after they were both hospitalized in mid-July.

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Dottie Jones, Rodriguez's cousin, told ABC13 that the La Marque couple didn't believe in vaccines.

"You try to talk to them, and she just didn't like that," Jones said. "Didn't trust it, I guess."

By the time Rodriguez changed her mind about getting the vaccine, she was in ICU and it was too late.

"Before she got intubated, one of the last things she told her sister was 'Please make sure my children get vaccinated,'" Jones said. "She would be there for her kids right now if she had been vaccinated."

Extended family has been taking care of the couple's four children.

"It just breaks my heart that people are believing the misinformation that's out there. The misinformation is killing people, and we need to get the truth out there," said Jones.

Jones is pleading with people who are hesitant about the vaccine to talk to their doctor and get information about it from a trusted source.

"This is really happening in our family, and it is the true story of what can happen. I am not trying to scare people. I just want people to understand this virus is real, and this delta variant is more brutal that anything we've seen," explained Jones.

A GoFundMe was set up to help with medical costs and bills.

"Our hearts are just broken," said Jones. "We hurt for the kids."