Family remembers Yuma man who died from coronavirus

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - A family in Yuma mourns their brother's death who died last week due to the coronavirus.

Valdemar Ledesma Jr., was 48-years-old when he passed away from the deadly virus. Ledesma's family says he had asthma and high blood pressure and spent one week in the hospital fighting for his life.

The last conversation his sisters had with him, he told them the week leading to his hospitalization he was having trouble breathing when he would just take a few steps,

It was a Wednesday where he had to call himself an ambulance to be transported to the hospital because of him having difficulty breathing.

A week into his hospital stay his health began to decline even more, eventually forcing him to use a ventilator to help him breathe. A few days later Ledesma passed away, last Sunday.

While Ledesma was being cared for at the hospital and was unresponsive, his sisters were able to speak to nurses on his condition.

In one instance, his older sister Leticia, says that she was able to video chat with her brother the night before he passed.

She described the touching moment saying, "he looked peaceful he did. He looked peaceful and he was still trying to fight. Fight you know. But unfortunately like I said, we lost him. Sunday morning.

Ledesma's sisters will always remember the last conversation they were able to hear their brother's voice, and will never forget his contagious smile. They're grateful they will always have memories with him to hold onto forever.

A GoFundMe was created by Ledesma's family to help with funeral expenses. The family plans to have Valdemar cremated.