Woman Reveals the Heartbreaking Reason She Has Converted Office into Father's Bedroom (Exclusive)

• Rebecca Vasquez redecorated her home office to surprise her father with his own bedroom

• Both she and her father have experienced the loss of a child, with Rebecca losing her son in 2022, and Alfredo losing his daughter in 2024

• The video she posted of the process has since gone viral, amassing more than 2 million views

One Texas woman is moving her dad closer to home, surprising him by converting her home office into a room for him.

In a video posted on Nov. 18, which has since been viewed more than 2 million times, Rebecca Vasquez prepares a bedroom for her father, Alfredo Hernandez, 77.

Both Rebecca and her father are going through grief journeys: Rebecca’s son, Jeremiah, died in 2022 at 18 years old, and Alfredo’s daughter — Rebecca’s half-sister, Andrea — died in May 2024.

Rebecca tells PEOPLE exclusively of the decision to change her office into a bedroom for her father, “He has lived alone in his home for quite some time now. Knowing that he's getting older and now knowing what comes with grief, I was adamant that I didn't want him to be alone.”

Though there was originally a futon and small nightstand available for Alfredo in the office, Rebecca “wanted something more intentional for him. So he knew he belonged somewhere. That he was wanted.”

She chose to decorate his new space with a cowboy theme “so he knew that room was his now,” she says. 

In the video, Rebecca reveals the room to a surprised Alfredo. She says that, upon seeing the room, her dad joked that “he was going to put up a sign on the door that says ‘Keep out!’ ” He also cheekily asked “when he could bring his first girlfriend over,” Rebecca adds with a laugh.

Rebecca, who describes her father as a “hoot,” shares that he “has lived a long, full life and has the stories to prove it.” Alfredo, who is a veteran of the Vietnam War, “was always a hard worker, providing for myself and my seven siblings,” she says.

“Growing up, my dad has always been my biggest supporter, helping in whatever way he could,” Rebecca says. “So when Jeremiah passed, it wasn't a shock to see him over every day.”

“My father was the first person I called when I got the news of my Jeremiah,” Rebecca tells PEOPLE. “While we were going through [the] trial for my son’s murder, my dad was by my side throughout it all. Every docket call, pre-trial, during the actual trial; my dad was there for it all.”

Rebecca says, “If there is anything anyone in our family ever needs from him — not just me — the answer is going to be, ‘Okay, I'll be there.’ ”

After the death of her half-sister, Andrea, in May 2024, Rebecca and Alfredo found themselves bonded in a new way: as grieving parents. Rebecca describes attending the wake of her sister, explaining, “I was thinking of my loss of my sister, but also, my father's loss of a daughter. Because now I am familiar with grief, I was crying for what was to come — for him [and] for me.”

She describes how, at that moment, as they both cried, her father grabbed her by the shoulders and said, “We need to be strong! For our other kids.”

Now, they constantly remind one another to be strong and have found comfort in being able to talk about memories of their children. “We know how important it is to share these experiences and to share their memories because we want their memory to live forever," Rebecca says.

In the months since her sister’s death, the pair have honored both Andrea and Jeremiah together. “I think including them, talking about them, remembering them, honoring them; it all helps with our grieving,” Rebecca continues.

From adding their photos to the ofrenda for Dia De Los Muertos and saving them seats at the table for Thanksgiving to hanging up their Christmas stockings, the pair have found new ways to honor their children together.

Rebecca shares that her grief has given her a new perspective on life, adding, “You realize when you leave, all that your loved ones are left with are memories and pictures to look back on.”

This shift in thinking made her want to be even closer to her father.

“I don't have a lot of time left with my father, so I'm glad he's home," she says. "I'm thankful that we are able to give him this space so we can make more memories together. So my children can make more memories with him. That's what's important. That's what Jeremiah and Andrea taught me.”

Read the original article on People