I got Covid August 27th 2021. I went to the ER, had a chest x-ray; confirmed I had developed pneumonia. I was sent home with an antibiotic, and was told to go back if my symptoms worsened.

On August 30th I was hospitalized with Covid pneumonia. My breathing was very labored, even with oxygen. A few days after that, I was transferred to ICU.  On September 9th, I was ventilated, and put in a medically induced coma.

As time went by, the doctors had no hope for me. They continued to tell my family that I wasn’t going to make it, but my family didn’t give up. They believed that the God of heaven and earth would get me through. They spread the word to people all over the world, different states and countries. I had a multitude of people praying for me.  Still, the doctors continued to tell them I was going to die. Of course, I continued to get worse so that was understandable (from a scientific perspective).

In October, I coded after a simple procedure. The doctors brought me back after some time, and told my family I would have brain damage from the lack of oxygen. They did a test, and a doctor came in and told them it confirmed brain damage. The doctors said my family should let me die with dignity and let me go, but out of the blue, I woke up. I don’t remember this, but my family said I woke up to let them know I was okay.  I had tubes down my throat and couldn’t talk, but I was able to communicate with them. They rechecked the scans and apparently the young doctor had made a mistake. There was no sign of brain damage. Thank God my family kept fighting for me.

During my time in the hospital, I had multiple collapsed lungs with 3 chest tubes in at one time, a feeding tube, a pick line hooked up to 10 different medications, a catheter, tampons stuck up my nose from a bad bloody nose. You name it I was hooked up to it. I also developed ARDS.

After I coded, something quite miraculous happened. My oxygen stats went from the low 60’s to the mid 90’s! The doctors were dumbfounded and literally scratched their heads. It took weeks, but I was finally stable. I was transferred from my hometown hospital to a specialty hospital in Mesa Arizona, that would help get me off of the ventilator.  Most people are ventilated for 2 to 3 weeks. I was ventilated for almost 5 months. While at Promise Hospital, I had my 4th collapsed lung and 4th chest tube put in.

I finally woke up January 6th, and was weaned from the ventilator January 26th. I was then transferred to a rehab facility where I was sponge bathed, changed, dressed – and all of this by 19 year old boys. It was definitely humbling.  I learned how to sit up, stand up, transfer to the camode and a wheelchair, and eventually take a few steps. I finally got my trach removed, and was sent home April 1st.

I now have pulmonary fibrosis in both lungs, my lung capacity is at 34%, am currently on 4 liters of oxygen when active and 2 liters when resting.  I am now able to walk about 100 feet before I have to sit and catch my breath, because my oxygen saturations drop.  I had a small pneumothorax in my left lung that finally sealed up about 3 months ago, but is still being monitored. I have a chronic cough that has been so bad I have dislocated my ribs three times.  I’m currently on multiple medications, one which controls my heart rate as I developed tachycardia. I was a very healthy person before covid, had no underlying health conditions, exercised regularly, took my vitamins and ate well. But it attacked my lungs.  I was not vaccinated at the time.