Mother’s Day without Mom: Families picking up the pieces after COVID

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- For some Colorado families, this will mark their first Mother's Day without mom. For families, daughters, and sons who lost their mothers to COVID-19, Mother's Day can bring up feelings of pain and loss. Some families will choose not to celebrate Mother's Day this year, while other families will grieve their loved ones privately.

Neva Martinez Ortega, daughter of Rita Martinez, a prominent figure in the Pueblo community, is one daughter who won't have her mom by her side this Mother's Day.

Rita Martinez passed away from COVID last year on December 10th. Martinez, a civil rights activist, a fighter for the indigenous communities, and a caring mother, was loved in the community. Her daughter adds, "She was the fiercest strongest woman that everyone turned to for leadership. But she was also a fun-loving person that loved to joke around and enjoy life."

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Rita was hospitalized for COVID-related symptoms. She was taken to Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo.

On their way to the hospital, Rita Martinez told her daughter she was bargaining with God, hoping to return home and fully recover from COVID-19. Martinez, one of Pueblo's strongest voices for indigenous rights, said she still had work to do on earth.

"Her children and all of the people she has touched throughout the community which are hundreds if not more throughout the city or throughout the state will continue her legacy, and will continue her work," said Martinez Ortega. "She has planted seeds in all of us and we are all blooming."

Since the pandemic began, more than 2,800 women have died of COVID-19 in Colorado, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 5th. Many who lost their lives to the virus were mothers.