In response to this need, Rodriguez began fixing up broken equipment to either sell at a low price, rent out or donate to a patient.
“[Breathing Angels is] basically like the Goodwill of medical equipment,” Rodriguez said.
The background
Rodriguez said the nonprofit received its name from grateful patients.
“During COVID-19, we started getting a lot of calls from hospitals [who] would have patients waiting in the hallways to go home, but they didn’t have money to go home [with proper medical equipment] or they didn’t have oxygen. A lot of patients started saying ‘you’re my breathing angel,’ so that’s how we got the name,” Rodriguez said.
What they offer
Breathing Angels supplies a wide range of equipment:
- Oxygen concentrators
- Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machines
- Bilevel positive airway pressure machines
- Child-friendly respiratory equipment l
- Nebulizers
- Hospital beds
- Suction machines for tracheotomy patients
- Suction catheters for tracheotomy patients
- Refills oxygen tanks
“We have patients that a lot of times have an accident, [where] they weren't insured, but they couldn't apply for Medicaid [because] they're too old. They couldn't apply for Medicare, [because] they're too young, so we have to wait for them to get disability. During that gap, you've got to cover the patient's [needs], so we cover those gaps,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said Breathing Angels provides equipment at a very affordable rate.
“One [patient] needed a CPAP and [another company] was charging her $1,400 for it here in Austin, and I got her a machine, not brand new, of course, that’s working perfectly and we told her it was $275 to buy,” Rodriguez said.
From 2020-23, Breathing Angels assisted over 1,300 patients, covering roughly $500 per individual in medical expenses and distributed over 5,000 pieces of equipment. In 2024, the nonprofit assisted approximately 400 patients. As of June, Rodriguez said that they have helped around 500 patients so far in 2025.
Rodriguez said that not only do they assist patients throughout the greater San Antonio region, but they also assist people in the Hill Country, while they are traveling and in other cities in Texas.
“We service San Antonio and the surrounding suburbs, sometimes we make special trips to Uvalde, to Kerrville, to Floresville. I get a few calls from Houston; I get requests from MD Anderson Cancer Center. Maybe a patient is traveling and they need help, so I help them out as well. I [also] have a company in Austin, Texas that we’re going to help with nebulizers for pediatric care,” Rodriguez said.
Currently, Breathing Angels has affiliations with 11 hospitals in the San Antonio region, including University Health, Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, Christus Health and Methodist Hospital in Stone Oak.
Also of note
Additionally, using supplies they stocked up on over a period of time, Breathing Angels also supplied equipment to hospitals in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
“When [COVID-19] hit, they were telling us, Mexico needed equipment,” Rodriguez said. “[Mexico] didn't have enough beds in their hospitals, and they needed care. So we donated a big chunk of equipment to Mexico, the governor gave us entry to take all that stuff into Mexico. We took supplies. We took some oxygen equipment as well, a little bit of everything. It was an 18-wheeler load.”
In total, the nonprofit supplied approximately $50,000 in equipment to Mexican hospitals.
Stay tuned
Breathing Angels plans to expand its operations to Austin by the end of the year.
