My name is Les Knutson and this is my story;

I got COVID-19 pneumonia back in October 9, 2021 I went to the Emergency Room to see what was wrong and they did some tests. After an hour I was flown by air ambulance from Plentywood, Montana to Billings, Montana with rapidly declining oxygen stats with a 2% chance to make it to Billings Clinic Hospital alive. I remember the flight down but after I got loaded into the plane I blacked out and they told me my heart stopped and they had to paddle me to get my heart to start back up. I got to the hospital and the induced me into a coma.

They then added remdesivir to my ventilator without my consent or my families consent. When I told them before I would never approve of taking that drug from the research and news I have read about it. I woke up 37 days later with a tracheotomy tube in my throat.

My right arm cut open from my wrist to my elbow from an embolism in my right arm. I was told I was in kidney failure and respiratory problems, which they operated on and removed 1/4 of my right lung. The doctor said I had problems in my airway and they had to operate again and laser cut my throat to stretch it out and put a stint in to keep it open to fix my breathing problem. I woke up paralyzed from the neck down and couldn’t walk or talk either.

I came home after 247 days in the hospital between the critical care units and the ICU. When they took me off the paralyzing agents they tried to get me up to walk and I had no strength and lost a lot of my muscle mass so I couldn’t for very long and had to always have assistance. I eventually got a really bad bed sore that ended up being 7 inches long by 3 inches wide by 4 fingers deep that had to be changed and taken care of by home health which put a wound vac on me.

After a couple of months of getting home they flew me back out because my gallbladder went out and had to be removed. They ended up not being able to do it right away so I had to stay in the hospital for a few days because my lungs weren’t strong enough yet to undergo another surgery so they put a drain tube in my gallbladder to drain it. After I got my lungs strong enough they removed the gallbladder and I got to go back home. I now have ongoing respiratory problems, kidney damage, nerve damage/neuropathy, a hole in the skin where my tail bone is from the really bad sore that is still not healed, having to chronically lift my head up to clear my throat, muscle atrophy and weakness. I had swelling on my brain and short term memory loss.

I am still fighting several medical issues now from fighting this long battle of the aftermath of remdesivir given to me to try to treat my COVID-19. After I told them to never give me that, but to give me Ivermectin or Hydroxychloroquine and they told me they can’t those are approved to treat COVID-19. I have had 3 strokes, Stage 4 kidney failure, respiratory problems and lung damage, airway damage, muscle damage in my right arm, neuropathy and nerve damage in my legs, feet and wrists with a lot of pain and burning. I get really bad headaches now and have trouble breathing and walking.

I feel the use of the remdesivir in my ventilator could of caused a lot if not all of my problems. It ruined my life, my job, and almost killed me.