#JusticeForRay

After a series of unfortunate events, our beloved son, brother, cousin, uncle, and friend Raymond Rodriguez has lost his battle to live.  Ray was the purest soul and lived life without any expectations except to love and be loved.  Ray lived his days happily and spent most of his time just checking in on every single family member or friend whether in his physical presence or virtually via his social media accounts with a hello, how are you, I miss u, and I love you.  He never hurt a soul or even showed a hint of anger or judgement towards anyone.  He just loved with all of his heart and infected everyone with joy, laughter, and a reminder of how simple life should be.  He touched everyone in a positive light and this simple description of Ray is evident in the posthumous reflections echoed by every single person associated with Ray.       In the coming days, weeks, months our family will share details on what happened to Ray as we begin the process of pursuing justice for Ray.  We will share facts and proof of the neglect and malpractice which ultimately led to Ray's untimely death.     Ray didn't want to be a burden to anyone.  For this reason, Ray knew that something was wrong in the days and weeks leading up to his stroke.  He did not say anything or ask for help and for that his health began to deteriorate rapidly.  Upon experiencing his initial stroke on the morning of 5/28/20, 911 was contacted and the paramedics were dispatched to stabilize Ray and transport him to the hospital. We all know that Ray had a mental disability which limited his ability to communicate, explain, or express himself.  His mental disability was reiterated to the EMTs and the hospital, but they still did not let a family member accompany him in order to communicate and assist in the care for Ray.  Furthermore, Ray was transported to the hospital, dropped off, and according to the hospital reps, the EMTs did not transfer or relay symptoms or the reason for Ray going to the ER that morning.  This left Ray alone and responsible for explaining his situation.  Being that he had just suffered a stroke, he was surely disoriented and only managed to relay discomfort and a soar arm so that is all that he was treated for.  He was then left alone and untreated for the symptoms that led to his initial stroke and now suffered another stroke and a massive heart attack which cut off blood circulation and oxygen to his brain.  From that point Ray was put on life support and forced to fight for his life.  The next week consisted of multiple tests, which rendered results of blood clots, clogged arteries, and no brain activity.  The prognosis was grim and our family struggled with the reality that Ray would most likely succumb to the trauma that ravaged his health.      Upon constant pressure and multiple visits to the hospital,  we were able to force the hospital administrator and attending docs and nurses to meet with us.  Based off of these meetings, we were able to build a timeline of events, build a story, and obtain proof of the neglect, mistakes, and malpractice that occurred.  What shocked us the most is that the hospital has a policy that is posted everywhere, which states that regardless of the current Covid-19 pandemic, any persons with a disability are a allowed to be accompanied by one family member.  This policy was ignored and we were deprived of this option, which would have saved Ray's life. Regardless of it all,  we came together, prayed, and remained optimistic, but on the evening of Sat 06/06/20, just days shy of his 41st birthday, Ray lost his battle.  It is now that we begin the fight for justice for Ray.      We are asking all family and friends to please donate funds for this cause.   We are prepared to fight and hold the hospital accountable for the neglect and malpractice that ultimately caused his death.  The funds will be used to obtain an independent autopsy, funeral, memorial expenses, lawyers fees, and cost associated with transferring Ray from Va to Pa to his final resting place.  This process will be long, time consuming, and both emotionally and physically draining.  We face a tough road with a seemingly uphill battle, but we are ready.  With your help we will succeed with obtaining justice for Ray.