A grandmother of 12 contracted COVID-19 in April and spent 20 days in the hospital at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. KTLA reports that Margarita Montañez was unable to see her family during this time, which included almost two weeks spent on a ventilator. On Thursday, Montañez tried to give a little back to the many medical staff, because she says she “appreciated the doctors and the nurses that helped me.” It took her five days, but the 73-year-old San Fernando Valley resident made 800 tamales and brought them to the staff.

Cedars-Sinai nurse David Karther said the staff was “so grateful” for the tamales, adding that “They couldn’t have come at a better time.” Margarita’s daughter Cindy helped deliver the tamales and spoke with KLTA, telling them about how frightening it was to leave her mother with nurses at the ER back in April. “I didn’t know if I was ever going to see my mom again. But thanks to the Cedars-Sinai medical team, my mom is here today, and we are forever grateful for that.”

Cindy went on to say that “People may not remember her but she remembers the medical staff every single day because of what they did to save her life and the lives of literally thousands of people. So they are the heroes and they deserve the best tamales in the world, which are my mom’s tamales.”

I’m not crying. You are!

En español y en English abajo!