Nurse, 29, Dies After 26-Day Battle With Coronavirus

A nurse has died after a 26-day battle with COVID-19.

People reported that Joshua Obra, who ran the popular Disneyland account @disneylandpanda, passed away on July 6. He was 29 and was a massive fan of Disney.

His younger sister Jasmine posted the tragic news on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

thank you to everyone who has prayed for josh during his battle against covid-19. he fought hard those 26 days from when his symptoms started, but now he is with God. i can’t believe i’m writing this at all and i know one post isn’t going to summarize a lifetime of memories. it brings me comfort that he touched so many lives out there, whether it was through nursing or throughout his whole life. i also wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who was a part of his life in any way. josh is the reason for why i’m walking on this earth today. when he was around 7 years old, he went to my parents and asked who was going to be with him when they were to pass away because he didn’t want to be alone.. then i was born to be along side his journey. i know i was the person he was most close to here. we were never apart. i also know i was too hard on him sometimes, but i hope he knew it was out of love. he’s so kind and selfless, wanting to make everyone happy.. even when he knows he made me mad or if he knows i’m going through something, he would always try to comfort me. he didn’t want to do any wrong. he always included me and i never felt left behind at all, even growing up. i’m so thankful for him dealing with me all these years the way that a big brother does. i’m so blessed that he was able to teach me some parts of how to be a nurse while we were able to work together before we both got sick.. i’m happy he was able to share his love for disney, visit all of the disney parks, and travel some of the world. i’m so happy he was able to follow his passion in photography. i’m so blessed we were able to be so close through all these things, so blessed to be his little sister. i’m going to miss laughing til we both cry and can’t breathe. i’m going to miss his silly little dances. i’m going to miss forcing him to wake up early so we could make ropedrops at disneyland then him falling asleep on the way there. i’m going to miss yelling at him for always making us run late. i’m going to miss our disney adventures together. i’m going to miss our never ending food adventures. i’m just going to miss him always being there. [continue in comments]

A post shared by @ jasmineobra on Jul 10, 2020 at 1:24pm PDT

While he took and posted photographs, Obra also worked as a registered nurse.

"I know I'll never be able to fully understand why he was taken away from us so early, but I know he lived a good life while he was here with us. He is now free from suffering and pain," she said in the post.

Jasmine mentioned that her brother would be reunited with their grandparents, and shared that she liked to think her brother is "looking for Walt Disney" to talk about "all the magic."

ABC7, an ABC affiliate in California, shared another heartwarming tribute to Joshua.

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--It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of one of our favorite Eyewitnesses, @disneylandpanda, Joshua Obra. He passed away Monday from complications due to COVID-19. Josh was a sweet and kind man, and a talented photographer. You can tell from his Instagram handle that he was a huge Disney fan, and he participated in many Disney and ABC7 events and initiatives over the years. He was someone you could depend on, and was always very generous with his time and talent. The caption below is from his Eyewitness feature back in September of 2018. “We like to give shout-outs to our most dedicated Eyewitnesses! @disneylandpanda was born and raised in SoCal. He's a registered nurse who currently lives in Gardena. His family has been going to Disneyland since he was a kid, and now, he and his sister are annual passholders. They love to travel, and are currently attempting to visit all the Disney parks around the world! The weekend shutterbug says he's inspired by his fellow photographers, and lives by this motto: the shots you take today are the memories of tomorrow.” We send our love and condolences to his sister @jasmineobra and all of his friends and family. We will miss #ourpandaforever.

A post shared by ABC7 Community (@abc7community) on Jul 10, 2020 at 5:42pm PDT

The station said that Josh was a kind man and talented photographer. The station reported that the 29-year-old was born and raised in Southern California and shared his love for Disney with his whole family.

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