Name of Victim: Miguel Rodríguez
Age of Victim: 59
Sex of Victim: Male
What Is This Testimony About: Hospital Protocol Death
State: AZ
Name of Hospital(s) victim was admitted to (List All that apply): Banner Del E. Webb
Did the victim survive? No
Date of Death: 12/07/2021
Contact Name: Martha Rodriguez
Relationship to Victim: Wife
Was the victim a military Veteran? No
Was the victim considered special needs, or did they have any kind of disability? No
Was the victim admitted to the hospital? Yes
County Hospital is located in: Maricopa
Date Admitted: 11/08/2021
Was the victim isolated at any time during hospitalization? Yes
Does the victim or family feel they were treated differently by hospital staff as a result of disclosing their vaccination status? Yes
Was the victim or family pressured to sign a Do Not Resuscitate? No
Was the victim physically restrained? No
Was the victim deprived of food and water while in the hospital? Yes
Was victim placed on a ventilator? Yes
What medications were administered to the victim by doctors or hospital staff?
Albuterol, Antibiotics, Antifungals, Antihistamines, Anxiety Medications, Azithromycin, Blood Thinners, Blood Pressure Medications, Ceftriaxone, Dexamethasone, Dexmedetomidine, Erythromycin, Famotidine, Fentanyl, Gabapentin, Insulin, Labetalol, Lasix, Lorazepam, Lovenox, Midazolam, Morphine, Oxygen, Pain Killers, Paralytics, Propofol, Remdesivir, Sedatives, Sodium Chloride, Steroids, Tocilizumab, Vancomycin
What medications did the hospital explicitly refuse to administer to the victim? Ivermectin
Has this incident been reported to any agency such as VAERS, HHS, JACHO, Medical Board or others? No
Place of Death: Hospital
Would you be interested in participating in podcasts or other media? Yes
Miguel Rodriguez: A Body Bag Beneath Him Before His Family Could Say Goodbye
Miguel Rodriguez was not a number. He was not a statistic. He was a husband of thirty-nine years, a father of three, a joyful man with music in his hands and art in his soul. To Martha, he was her husband, her partner, her “gordita”-calling sweetheart who still wanted to look handsome even from a hospital bed. To Lizbeth, he was the dad who woke the house with music, played drums in the morning, loved basketball, loved hiking, and could turn a blank wall into something beautiful.
Miguel was an artist. He painted murals of SpongeBob, Belle, Cinderella, the Chicago Bulls, and whatever else his imagination could bring to life. He was also a musician, playing salsa and cumbia with bands and later with his own drum set in Arizona. He was social, happy, grateful, hardworking, and healthy. As a security guard, he had to keep up with physical requirements for work, and Martha said he was always trying to stay fit. He had no serious medical issues. He was only 59 years old.
In November 2021, Miguel became sick with what his family described as flu-like symptoms. He was in Arizona, while Martha and Lizbeth were still back and forth between Chicago and Arizona. When his symptoms worsened, he went to Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City West on November 8, 2021. Because of COVID restrictions, his son had to drop him off. The family could not simply walk in and advocate for him. They were forced to rely on phone calls, fragmented updates, and trust in a hospital system they believed would help him.
Almost immediately, according to Martha, Miguel was started on Remdesivir. At that time, the family did not know what Remdesivir was or the dangers so many families would later connect to it. Martha called daily, sometimes multiple times a day, writing down what she was told. She heard the same words again and again: Remdesivir, steroids, antibiotics, oxygen, potassium. No one explained the risks. No one sat the family down and gave them true informed consent.
Miguel was still texting his family in those early days. On November 9, he wrote that he was struggling to breathe, that he put everything in God’s hands, and that he loved Martha and their babies. On November 10, he texted, “I love you, gorda,” using the nickname he had for his wife. On November 14, he told Martha, “Good morning, honey. My food, I can taste food now, and I feel much better.” Even from the hospital, with his hair messy, he sent a picture and apologized for how he looked. Martha reassured him, “Don’t worry, you always look handsome.”
But instead of coming home, Miguel was escalated. The BiPAP frightened him. Martha said he became anxious and scared with it. Lizbeth remembered him saying he would rather be shot in the head than be intubated, because he understood how serious intubation was. When the nurse FaceTimed the family, Miguel was told he had “no choice.” He was too weak to argue. He asked if he could be on the ventilator for one day. He was told that was not how it worked.
Miguel was intubated on November 17. His family was not allowed to see him until days later, around November 20 or 21. When they were finally permitted in, it was only one at a time. They took turns: Martha, Lizbeth, and the boys. They prayed, played gospel music, sang to him, and tried to reach the man they loved through the machines, sedation, and silence.
What they found was not care. Martha described his room as dirty. His sheets had blood spots. Bandages and cotton balls were on the floor. She asked why the room was not cleaned and was told there was not enough staff. Miguel looked neglected, as if he had not been bathed. Yet later, when Martha looked through the records, she counted around sixty nurses connected to his care over the course of his stay. The family was required to wear PPE, while nurses came in and out without it, telling Martha that Miguel was not breathing on his own because the machine was breathing for him.
The emotional cruelty was constant. A pulmonologist told Martha and her son that they should start thinking about “end of life.” When Martha said God had the last word, the doctor replied that it had nothing to do with God and that she had not seen anyone come back from that condition. Martha believed Miguel may have been able to hear those words. Lizbeth described standing by her father, singing and praying, when a nurse walked in with the door open and said, “I’m so sorry. I don’t think your dad’s going to make it.”
The family tried to get a priest to come and give Miguel the sacraments. Martha asked hospital staff repeatedly, day after day, but she was given the runaround. Finally, she called a church herself, and a brave priest came. Martha remains grateful to him for giving Miguel what the hospital delayed.
As the days passed, the updates changed constantly. One day, they were told to pray for a miracle because Miguel was doing better. Another day, they were told his lungs looked like rocks and he would not recover. He was put on dialysis when his kidneys began failing, and the family was told his liver was worsening too. The day before Miguel died, a doctor met Martha and her son in a hallway near the elevators, with people coming and going, and discussed disconnecting him. They asked about other options — a lung transplant, anything. They were told there were no other options.
On December 7, 2021, Martha and her children were at morning Mass when the hospital called. The nurse said Miguel did not have much time and they needed to come. They rushed there. This time, they were told they no longer needed PPE because Miguel “had no more COVID.” They were allowed in together.
Martha noticed immediately that something was different. Miguel’s face was clean. His hair was combed back. His sheets were clean. Then she lifted the sheet.
Beneath her husband was a body bag.
Miguel was still alive.
He already had a tag on his toe with his name on it.
At eight o’clock in the morning, before the family had finished saying goodbye, before their older son could even arrive from Chicago, Martha found the body bag beneath Miguel and the toe tag already on him. It was devastating beyond words. When Martha asked if they could wait for her son to arrive, the nurse said she would give Miguel more paralytics. She left the room. Minutes later, the family heard the code alarm. The nurse came back in and said he had coded.
Lizbeth was screaming on the floor. Martha and her children were shattered. Their older son did not arrive until later that afternoon. He did not get to see his father alive.
Miguel Rodriguez entered the hospital as a healthy, joyful, beloved man with a family waiting for him to come home. He died after isolation, Remdesivir, fear, sedation, intubation, neglect, pressure toward end of life, organ failure, and the final horror of his family discovering that the hospital appeared to have prepared his body for death before he was gone.
This is why Betrayal Project USA exists: to give families like Martha and Lizbeth a platform to tell the truth, to honor the people they loved, to seek reform and accountability, and to build a community of support for those who suffered institutional betrayal. These are egregious crimes against humanity that must be exposed, documented, and stopped.
Please share Miguel’s story. Share all of these stories. If you or a loved one has been harmed by COVID-related protocols, shots, or policies, document your story at betrayalprojectusa.org. Your voice matters, and together we can make sure they are not forgotten.
