On Thursday, Cruz, 32, lost his fight and died at Loyola University Hospital. Cruz had never regained consciousness since the Nov. 6 fire in Pilsen and did not know his only son had died, according to Cruz's mother Yolanda Lopez.
"We really thought he would recover, you don't want to give up hope. We lost one we didn't want to think we would lose my son also," said Lopez. "He's in heaven with his son."
A firefighter battling flames at 1752 W. Cullerton St. (Tribune / Nuccio DiNuzzo)
She would notice some improvement in her son's monthlong stay in the hospital and get her hopes up. But the damage to his lungs was just too severe, she said. "He hung in for the six weeks."
Lopez said her son left behind six children and was expecting a seventh child.
One of his daughters, Caila, was also injured in the fire in the family-owned building in the 1700 block of West Cullerton Street . She spent three days in the hospital and is doing well, living with her mother and her maternal granddaughter, Lopez said.
The cause of the fire, which fire investigators believe started in the bedroom where Michael Jr. was found, remains undetermined, Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor said this afternoon. The Chicago Police Bomb and Arson unit ruled the fire accidental, police said.
Lopez said Cruz was the oldest of her five children and served as a protector to his siblings, especially his only sister. "Being the big brother, he was always looking out for his brothers and little sister."
There are a number of family birthdays around this time of the year when the extended family always gathered together. On Monday, Cruz's daughter Apple celebrated her 6th birthday.
With Christmas so close, Lopez said the family is trying to focus on the children.
"We're going to try and make Christmas as happy for the children as possible and see what happens. It's just so hard," she said. "I keep thinking it's a bad dream."
Cruz was especially close to his son, according to Lopez.
Cruz was a disc jockey who worked at parties and other events and would let his son tag along. He even outfitted his son with small headphones.
"He [Michael Jr.] just loved being with him," said Lopez. "For being only 3, we have enough memories if he was 10 or 15 years old."
The Cruz family is accepting donations at MB Financial branches across the city.
-- Carlos Sadovi, Caroline Kyungae Smith
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