Comedian Joe Luna dies at 38 after documenting his COVID-19 battle

Joe Luna, a Los Angeles-based comedian, has died after documenting his COVID-19 battle on his Instagram account.

It was recently revealed that Joe Luna, known professionally by the name Joe El Cholo, passed away on November 23. The comedian had been sharing his experience with COVID-19 on his Instagram account, noting that the disease is "no joke."

His death was also announced through a post on his Instagram account last week, which gave details of his funeral. The 38-year-old had shared his last post on November 23, in which he complained about the condition of COVID-19 wards.

The comedian first spoke about his bout with the illness on November 21, noting that it's "no joke" and will rain hard on your parade especially if you are diabetic. "God bless too everyone. And no I didn't get it from going out and performing. It was due to close contact," he captioned the post.

He also revealed that he has been dealing with chest pains and pneumonia. Dubbing the battle for his life "pretty intense," Luna had said he needs all the prayers to make it through.

In another post, Luna announced that he will be going live and documenting his COVID-19 journey for "educational purposes," as he hoped his videos will help others. In the 35.10 minutes long video, the performer discussed his "horrible" symptoms, and revealed that his children and his girlfriend have contracted the virus as well, though their symptoms were not as severe.

"Let me tell you, man, when I would hear people talk about what COVID did to them, I always thought to myself, man, you know what, I doubted it was that bad. I'll tell you guys right now, I've been put in a fight. I've been fighting for my life," he said in the video.

"Not only did I test positive for COVID, I have pneumonia. I'm a double amputee and I'm a diabetic, so I'm dealing with a lot," Luna added.

He was hospitalised shortly after he shot that video, as he revealed in another clip on November 23. "It's horrible, guys. My pneumonia got very bad. Everything has just been in a downfall," he said in the clip. He also noted that the coronavirus ward where he has been admitted is "filthy."

His family set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for Luna's funeral costs. His son Jose Talavera told FOX 11 LA that they are putting together a show for the comedian as he didn't want anyone crying at his funeral. "He wanted people to be laughing and having fun," he said.