A doctor who was in the ICU for three weeks battling coronavirus has disclosed the illness had him seeing things that were not there.
Dr. Michael Ward, 71, spent nearly a month at Hillcrest Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma and experienced fever, muscle pain and hallucinations.
“I do remember birds flying in my room,” he told KFOR. “I remember petting my dog and I remember having people visit me who are no longer living.”
Like many COVID-19 patients, Ward was only visited by nurses and other healthcare workers while hospitalized.
“It was a one day at a time type of agony,” Ward said. “I won’t call myself a fighter but I didn’t want to die.”
He believes he contracted the illness from a patient who had recently been to Italy.
Ward hopes that by being a medical professional and sharing his story people won’t take the current pandemic situation lightly.
“It was the most difficult time of my life,” he added. “I swear you do not want to do what I had to do.”
Ward wound up losing 50 lbs and currently relies on walker to stand.
While recovering at home for the next eight weeks, the battle has left him feeling uneasy about returning to his practice.
“I have never been scared to go to work before, and now I am scared,” Dr. Ward said.
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