Virus closed her gym, now threatens her father
Weeks after virus shutters business, father in intensive care with COVID-19
COVID -19 has hit gym owner Jeanette Martesano-Villanueva hard: Her business is shuttered and her father is in intensive care with the disease.
Martesano-Villanueva hasn’t seen her father since he was taken to St. Paul’s Hospital by ambulance on Sunday. Hospital staff set up an iPad so the family can visit virtually, but it’s not the same as being with him and holding his hand. He has not regained consciousness.
It’s a cruel blow that came just three weeks after Martesano-Villanueva had to close her business because of the pandemic — a business her father built by hand.
Martesano-Villanueva said her mother died unexpectedly two years ago, the same day she signed papers to secure the space on Broadway to open a HIT (high-intensity training) fitness training facility.
Her father Rolito Martesano, a retired letter carrier who immigrated from the Philippines in the 1970s, volunteered to renovate the space for her.
“I had no idea that he had the skill. I knew he was a hard worker, he wanted to do it all himself,” said Martesano-Villanueva.
Each day Rolito would dispatch her for supplies. She would return with lumber, cement, and lunch. The process wasn’t just about building the gym — it was a rebuild of their relationship, a relationship that had been torn apart during her tumultuous adolescence. They grieved for her mother together as they worked.
“We became inseparable. The building and the gym brought us so close. It’s almost like my mom brought us all together, and gave me the chance to realize what family actually is,” said Martesano-Villanueva. She named the gym MarVill Fitness & Athletics, after both of them.
Now she is in danger of losing both her father and the business that helped them heal their relationship.
Rolito, 70, who recently remarried, was working in construction on a major development.
“His wife called me on Saturday and said he has a fever,” said Martesano-Villanueva.
By Sunday, Rolito had chest pain and his fever had soared. After an online chat with a doctor, he was sent to a clinic on Commercial Drive. The clinic diagnosed COVID-19, and rushed him to the hospital.
Rolito’s wife, Maple, who does not speak English, was left to fend for herself outside the clinic on the Drive.
“They had parked in a loading zone and she doesn’t know how to drive stick, so her daughter called me. I called a tow truck and told them we needed the car towed and that my dad who had been in it was COVID-19 positive, got her a taxi, then we had to call the taxi company and tell them they would need to disinfect the taxi.”
When Martesano-Villanueva called St. Paul’s to see how her father was, they asked for permission to intubate and ventilate Rolito. His lungs were failing. Her voice is flat with exhaustion. The final shock came when Rolito’s workplace called her to find out
whether he had COVID -19. During that call she learned that another employee had tested positive, but had returned to work when he felt better. She doesn’t know whether the person had medical clearance to return to work after the COVID-19 diagnosis — something officials told her would have been required — or whether that’s where her father was exposed.
The gym her father so lovingly built is what keeps her going. Many clients have continued their payments to try to keep it afloat, and she is creating an online platform so her trainers can deliver workouts.
And she is finding solace in giving back: Martesano-Villanueva has created soap and hand sanitizer that she gives away. “I give it to
anyone still working who may not be getting recognition. It’s our way to say thank you for your service.”
She calls the ICU every few hours. The staff hold up the iPad so she can see her father. “I don’t know if he can hear or not, and I keep telling him we’re in a good place now, I love him and I want more years with him.”