Isabelle H. Papadimitriou “Obie” Memorial Fund

It is with extreme sadness that I share the passing of my mother, Isabelle Odette Hilton Papadimitriou. A respiratory therapist who managed life-saving systems as her vocation, she passed away less than one week after testing positive with COVID-19. On behalf of our family, I am asking for support for two reasons:

 - To ensure my mother is laid to rest with love and that our family can grieve through this tragedy together, we are raising funds to cover the costs of the memorial service and burial. Isabelle should have never been taken from us this soon so we were unprepared for these expenses; and with COVID affecting my own family’s work status and income, we’d be eternally grateful for any help we can get. 

- To continue my mother’s legacy of giving back and helping others, we’d like your help amplifying her story, as well as the stories of tens of thousands of others like us, in hopes of driving a culture change around coronavirus prevention and saving lives in Isabelle’s hospital, community, and beyond. In addition, we'd like to donate any excess money raised to a fund that supports family members of front line healthcare heroes who have lost their lives in the COVID fight. 

For her funeral, we aim to reach our minimum goal of $15,000 by Friday, Jul 24, as these expenses are happening in real-time. 

Isabelle was a much-admired and respected respiratory therapist at the Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation (BIR). In the time of COVID-19, even though her department focused on rehabilitation, every respiratory therapist is on call during the coronavirus pandemic. The surge in Texas sometimes meant more than her standard shifts per week and taking on COVID patients even though she normally wouldn’t have. It also meant potentially treating patients who had the virus but didn’t know. 

I was worried about my mom working with COVID patients but I knew she was strong. The last time we spoke, she told me and Charlie that things had been slow at the hospital and that they were more or less keeping COVID out of her rehab department. All was okay and she was being very careful, she promised.

Then the coronavirus spike hit Texas. And it hit Texas hard. My mom had a flight booked so she could be in Brooklyn with us at the end of June. But because of the high risk, she canceled her trip. Isabelle was heartbroken because she was looking forward to seeing her granddaughter whom she adored. Instead, she helped with the overwhelm in her hospital. She agreed to pick up extra shifts during her time off because she wanted to be able to help my husband and me--unbeknownst to us--since our jobs had been negatively impacted during the pandemic. 

We were in New York and she was fighting for her life at the home she shared with my brother in Texas. 

"Hey, mom is feeling better today," my brother texted. 

“Feeling better??” I asked.

“She has COVID?” he replied.

My mom didn’t want me to worry so she didn't tell me she caught the virus. 

I didn’t get to speak to or see her before she passed. She texted me a couple of days before she died to tell me she was in pain but that she was going to fight this thing for Lua. “I love you, and that sweet Princess is my reason to fight this.”

I believed her. I really, really believed her.

On July 3rd, Texas Governor Greg Abbott mandated the wearing of face masks.

On July 4th, just two days after I found out she was sick, that virus took her life. 

At the young age of 64, Isabelle didn’t have any underlying conditions known to be risk factors for COVID-19 patients. She worked out when her joints allowed, she was on her feet during her shifts at work, and, in fact, a colleague recently told me she had picked up running because she was inspired by my running.  But despite her strength, her body was still not able to handle the race that is the coronavirus. 

The mental drive, focus, and commitment needed for her job on the front line were admirable. But it was her infectious smile, joyful spirit, strong will and love for every single person she crossed paths with that made her a real gem in everyone’s life. Isabelle, who was often called “Obie” by her friends and family, was a lover of her two dogs, Shadow and Gauner; the Greek Orthodox religion; every book ever published; travel; Facebook; her friends and family, and most of all her 10-month old granddaughter Lua.  

Born in Brownsville, Texas, our mother had a complex upbringing. Hardship and heartbreak seemed to follow her all the way through adulthood. But her resilience, fortitude, and spirit led her to the beautiful life she was enjoying right up until her passing. My brother and I had never seen our mother so happy. Everything had come together for her and we felt so proud.

Isabelle is loved and missed by her son Richard Isaac Elizondo; her daughter and son-in-law Fiana Paulette Tulip and Charlie Tulip; her grandbaby Lua; her siblings Terrie Vasquez and her husband Josue Vasquez, Victoria Borrego, Robert Hilton and his wife Louise Ara and Xavier Hilton and his wife Susan Hilton; along with her treasured nieces and nephews, countless friends and the greater Dallas Fort-Worth and Brownsville communities. She is preceded in death by her brothers John Joe Hernandez and Luis Hernandez, her brother-in-law George Borrego, and her parents Kate Hilton and Virgil Hilton.

We’ll never know what day she caught COVID-19 or which patient she caught it from, we'll never know why it all happened so fast and what would have happened had she gone to the hospital sooner, we'll never know if she'd still be alive if masks were mandated earlier or if Texas reopened later, but one thing we’ll always know is that this beautiful hero died because of her passion for helping others. 

My brother and I are now trying our best to manage my mother’s funeral and we are working to create a final goodbye to my mother in a place where we can (carefully) be together. We're finding that the funeral and burial services alone are likely to cost well over $10,000.

Did you know obituaries cost somewhere between $250-$500? And to use the basic services of a funeral home starts at around $6K? This doesn't include holding my mom in their care, which is around $100 per day. If we wanted to bury my mom in Brownsville, just transferring her to her hometown is $5K. Opening and closing her plot is $1500 and we're even on a waiting list do that. The price list goes on and on. 

Above and beyond this initial support, it is also our hope that we can come together with our community and extended family to spark awareness and generosity that goes beyond her remembrance so that we might provide some level of support to the larger front line community at-risk in her honor.  Healthcare workers are putting themselves in harm’s way every day. Many of them are working lower-wage jobs and are afraid of losing income if they don’t show up to work. In light of these overwhelming inequities, we'd like to make her story public and we'd like to give back. Any excess money will be donated to a fund that supports family members of healthcare workers who have lost their lives in the COVID fight. 

Isabelle’s state of Texas is shattering the daily record of cases per day; people experiencing symptoms are having challenges finding a testing site (my mother spent two whole days trying to find an available appointment to get tested) and even waiting for hours in the 100+ degree weather to get seen by a doctor; hospitals are beyond capacity and PPE is in dangerously low supply; people are arguing over whether masks are an infringement on their rights and comparing this virus to the flu. Soon there will be no ventilators available and many patients will not even be granted the care they need to have a chance at recovery. 

Over 130,000 people have died nationwide. Our country is in trouble and it’s clear that we need to save each other; the only way we can do that is by taking personal responsibility. As I continue to grieve the loss of my mother, I must fight in her name to save lives. 

Help us raise funding in honor of my mom, a true hero, and for the countless others who continue to suffer. With your help, we will build momentum to make change and hold Texas and our country's elected officials accountable. We really shouldn't have leadership that hedges their bets on people we love.