In the early hours of June 29th, Dr. Francisco Javier Carrillo Ruiz, Puerto Peñasco Coordinator of Civil Protection and the Fire Department, passed away in Hermosillo. He was transferred there on June 22nd in serious condition, with symptoms compatible with Covid-19 though no official cause of death has been reported yet.
On April 3rd, shortly after the Sonora State Secretary of Health presented a forecast of anticipated coronavirus cases and deaths in the state if restrictive Stay at Home measures did not go into effect, Dr. Carrillo penned this message to the community at large – posting from his Facebook account.
“Tired, and not able to sleep, thinking if I will be one of the 660 people that will die because people don’t want to understand Stay at Home. How many of my coworkers, because you have to know they left all health workers out – or rather, we are obligated to face the virus. How many of us will take the illness home?
This is why. Help us by staying at home, don’t expose us. Stay home, I ask you for the love of God, for your family, and for all my colleagues in the medical field of Puerto Peñasco. So what, if the authorities started large operatives that a lot of people won’t like. So what, the time is passed for asking for this to be over with. Now your home is your refuge, go shelter with your loved ones because later you want to point fingers.
I also know I’m going to eat because I believe I have a lot of friends that would give me a taco, this is why I hope I don’t die of hunger but because of a damned virus that, with the efforts of all, we can combat.
Peñasco is not done, we’ll have beaches for a long time but now it’s time to hold on. I ask you, for my family – that now due to the nature of the virus I have to work and I can’t stay home. This message is for all my friends and acquaintances on my social networks. God bless you and protect you and for those who are sick may the Saint Virgin Mother of San Juan de los Lagos heal them. You who are so miraculous, care for all my people and particularly my mother and father, siblings, nephews and nieces, and my beautiful grandson. Let’s give it our all in this direct fight against this pandemic. May God Bless you.”
A fireman’s dedication
“How do we honor our fallen brother?? We honor him everyday by being strong for the weak, kind to the lonely, and by rescuing those in harms way, regardless of the danger. We honor him by living each day like it was our last, because our fallen brothers remind us that it just might be. To our fallen brother!! – Courtesy of John Teefy, Captain, Phoenix Fire Dept. (Ret)
