'It happened so fast': Father loses battle with COVID-19 after ten days in hospital
SAN ANTONIO (WOAI/KABB) —A family is mourning the loss of a father and grandfather who died over the weekend from complications related to COVID-19.
Michael Granato, 56, leaves behind a wife and three children, including a 14-year-old daughter.
"I miss him so much. It hurts my heart," said his aunt Rachel Barrios-Van Os. "I see him as my brother more than my nephew because we were raised together in the same house."
Granato entered the hospital July 30 after testing positive for COVID-19.
"He thought he could take care of himself at home," Barrios-Van Os said. "But it was serious."
"When he ended up in the hospital, I think at first I was like, 'Oh it's fine, he's texting us, he's fine,'" said his cousin Leya Van Os. "But he had some oxygen problems, and the next day it just got worse and worse. It just happened so fast."
"Little did we know, his life was going to end nine days later," Barrios-Van Os added. "You don't know who or when or why you're going to get it, but when it gets you, it gets you."
Michael passed away this past Saturday, August 8.
"I've been crying out to God and to my Michael just wondering why. Why did this have to happen," Barrios-Van Os said. "I just think that things could have been different."
Michael was the sole provider for his family and lived paycheck-to-paycheck, she said. "He's the one who helped his wife survive. It's going to be a hard struggle."
Now loved ones have started a GoFundMe page to help out Michael's immediate family with funeral expenses, medical bills, and other future expenses.
"He was always there for us and for anyone that needed anything," Barrios-Van Os said. "They say, before we die and leave this world, it is our duty to make this a better world for future generations to come. I believe that Michael touched hearts and people's lives with his kind heart and soul, leaving a footprint for others to follow and live by."
"An honest man with a kind heart and the goofiest raspy laugh, it is safe to say that he is one of the most compassionate people I know," his cousin Maya Van-Os wrote on the GoFundMe page. "He has always tried his hardest to make sure that no one in his community – be them blood family or the homeless folks around him – goes hungry. He spent too many years to count cooking for those who cannot provide food for themselves."
His family hopes sharing the pain they're now experiencing can possibly save lives.
"Everyone should take this seriously," Barrios-Van Os said. "COVID-19 is a beast. It's real, and it's vicious, and it will take your life."
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