Texas Teen Makes Desperate Plea To Gov. Abbott To Help Sick Mother 'Hanging On For Dear Life'

(CBSDFW.COM) - A 14-year-old boy in South Texas appears to be getting much needed help from state officials, including the governor, for his mother who is seriously ill with COVID-19.

Emilian Sosa sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday and asked for help getting an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) therapy for his mother, Erika Calderon, as her lungs are severely damaged due to the virus.

"At this very moment, she is on a ventilator, hanging on for dear life, at the DHR Health Covid Unit in Edinburg... this therapy is only performed in big cities such as Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, and it is the only hope for her to be healed," the letter stated.

Sosa spoke to CBS News' Mireya Villareal about his mother and what she's had to deal with. He said she was admitted into the hospital on Jan. 4 and that he had to help carry her into an ambulance. She's been intubated for a week.

"I first didn't cry because I was like in a panic attack. Like, we have to get her down immediately," Sosa said.

Sosa was seeking the ECMO therapy after doctors said his mother's lungs were too damaged and that treatment options were limited. The ECMO therapy is a form of life support that uses a special machine to add oxygen to the blood and gives the lungs time to heal.

However, that machine isn't available in his area of the Rio Grande Valley. Thousands of dollars would be required to move his mother to another hospital hundreds of miles away.

Along with the letter to the governor, Sosa also set up a GoFundMe, where he raised more than $30,000, for help in paying for his mother to be transported.

Sosa received some more good news when he got a response from Abbott himself.

"I just spoke with Emilian Sosa about his mom. We are helping his mom right now. With the help of Nim Kidd, the Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management & Dr. Zerwas, the equipment his mother needs was located. She should be in good medical care," Abbott said in a tweet.

Sosa's mother will be transported to Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston.

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• COVID-19
• Greg Abbott
• Texas