A teenager who lost his mum to coronavirus is fulfilling a promise to her by looking after his other younger siblings.
Nineteen-year-old Juan Jose Martinez and his mother Brenda Lopez contracted Covid-19 along with his five other siblings back in August.
The six children recovered but tragically, their mother did not.
She died, leaving the children alone in their home in Palmdale, Los Angeles.
Before she died, Juan made a promise to his mother that he would take care of his brothers and sisters, and since then he's been doing his level best to cook for everyone, make sure they've got clean clothes on their backs, pay the bills, and get everyone to where they need to be.
The brave lad told local news outlet FOX11: "I became a father, mother and a big brother at the same time.
He continued: "At first, it was pretty emotional.
"There was a lot of screaming and crying but I managed to calm them down and told them everything was going to be fine and I wasn't going to let anything happen to them."
Juan has siblings that are aged seven, eight, nine and 15, with another two-year-old brother that has been living with his father since September.
He has been forced to quit his job as a security guard in order to look after the kids, and has applied for benefits to help out, as well as setting up a fundraising page.
On that GoFundMe page, he writes: "On August 24 , 2020 my mom passed away due to Covid-19 and left 6 children behind.
"We all tested positive and recovered.
"I promised her that I will keep my siblings together and take care of them. I am creating this GoFundMe for the holidays and for my siblings.
"Thank you, we're grateful for what we receive, god bless."
His mother Brenda started off with only mild symptoms such as a cough, but developed further and suffered shortness of breath a few days later.
She suffered from Diabetes, and - according to Juan - had been taking the virus very seriously, regularly washing her hands, socially distancing, and wearing a face mask.
However, as her symptoms continued to get worse, her lungs eventually collapsed and her kidneys failed, leading to her death.
If you'd like to help Juan and his family in any way, you can donate to the GoFundMe page through this link.
Featured Image Credit: FOX11Topics: Coronavirus, US News