Comedian says COVID is no laughing matter
Though he often finds humor in even the most serious situations, Cleto Rodriguez isn’t laughing at COVID-19 anymore.
The 50-year-old San Antonio comedian was hospitalized for more than two weeks with the disease, which has claimed more than 620,000 lives in the United States.
Rodriguez was released from Metropolitan Methodist Hospital on Tuesday and is now recovering at his home on the far Southeast Side, with the help of an oxygen tank.
“It was the scariest moment of my life,” he said in an interview. “I was so fatigued, I could barely breathe and my back hurt. It was an experience I will never forget.”
Rodriguez, who has a comedy special on Amazon Prime, said there’s nothing funny about being hospitalized with other patients fighting for their lives in an intensive care unit.
Among the other COVID-19 patients in the ICU was his 77-yearold father-in-law, Roger Vargas. Vargas died Monday, the day before Rodriguez was released.
They were among several in their family to test positive for the virus in mid-July. None had been vaccinated.
“The virus itself is no joke. I can’t joke about that,” Rodriguez said. “It became personal when my father-in-law passed.
“The hardest part was knowing that he was two doors down in the ICU and that I couldn’t even see or comfort him,” he added. “That was rough.”
Vargas, who suffered from dementia, was placed on a ventilator but did not respond to medication or treatment, Rodriguez said.
The comedian’s wife, Lynette Rodriguez, was able to say goodbye to her father before he was taken off the ventilator.
“I’m just trying to be strong for my wife right now, and my mother-in-law and in-laws,” Rodriguez said, adding that he plans to take a break from comedy to grieve with his family.
Lynette declined to be interviewed, citing the emotional toll of losing her father to the same disease that nearly took her husband.
While Rodriguez was hospitalized, Lynette and their three children also were sick with COVID-19.
“That lady is one strong woman,” said philanthropist April Ancira, a longtime friend of the family. “She was smiling and incredibly positive, and she’s been passing it on to her kids.”
Lynette would FaceTime with Rodriguez daily and tell him to “keep fighting.” He said her encouragement and his faith in God kept him going.
Rodriguez said that while he was in the hospital, he prayed more than he ever had in his life, and he followed the medical staff ’s advice to the letter.
“The nurse asked for 10 steps; I gave her 20. She asked for 30 knee-highs; I gave her 40,” Rodriguez recalled. “I just kept going and fighting the extra mile, just to do what I had to do to get out of there.”
The virus has taken a mental and physical toll. Simple tasks like taking a shower and brushing his teeth leave him fatigued.
Rodriguez said his family’s ordeal might have been avoided if they had been vaccinated. He has Type 2 diabetes, one of the underlying conditions that can make COVID-19 much more severe.
“I was told that 90 percent of those hospitalized for COVID-19 are unvaccinated, and, wow, to be a part of that statistic … I just had a lot of regrets on my part,” he said. “I wish I had gotten vaccinated.”
He and his family plan to get their shots in three months. Doctors advise patients who have contracted the virus to wait 90 days before receiving the vaccine.
He also has changed his opinion on face masks. Before, Rodriguez wore one only at places that required it. He said he found it difficult to breathe through a mask. Now, he supports the city’s decision to mandate masks in public buildings and schools.
“I’ll put a blanket over if I have to,” Rodriguez said.
Earlier this year, Rodriguez left Fox San Antonio and News 4 San Antonio, where he had produced the “Where’s Cleto?” morning segment for nine years. The parting of the ways cost him his employer-provided health insurance.
Ancira, an executive with the Ancira Auto Group, stepped in with a GoFundMe campaign to help the family.
“That GoFundMe really brought peace to my heart because I had no idea what I was going to do and how long I was going to be working to pay this thing off,” Rodriguez said.
Ancira and Rodriguez have been friends since the early 2000s after meeting at charity events. She wanted to support Rodriguez in the same way he did when she went through a difficult time after being arrested in 2019 on suspicion of drunken driving.
Ancira said she faced public backlash after the incident.
“I was at an incredibly low point, and Cleto came running with his hand out to get me back standing,” she said. “Instead of a shove, he gave me a hug, and I don’t forget that kind of thing.”
The GoFundMe page and a fundraiser at a Smashin’ Crab restaurant helped raise $64,000 for the Rodriguez family, Ancira said.
“Cleto no longer had a steady job, and he didn’t have much income coming in,” she said. “I thought, ‘We’ve got to give him some peace of mind to focus on healing rather than think about how his family was going to get by.’ ”
Ancira said she expected to be criticized for launching the fundraiser rather than donating the money herself, but she believed a community effort would raise more.