(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A 55-year-old Sandwich man who was near death from COVID-19 a year ago is now home with his family, thankful to have another chance at life.
Henry Garza described the experience as horrible. He tested positive for coronavirus in November 2020. Then came pneumonia, a ventilator and a double-lung transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
“My lungs were stuck to my rib cage because they were so diseased,” he told the DeKalb Chronicle in a story published Thursday.
Garza said he wouldn’t wish the experience on “his worst enemy.”
He was in the hospital for 200 days, including being on a ventilator last Christmas. Garza, who lost 70 pounds, is still doing outpatient rehabilitation to re-learn how to walk and write.
On the positive side, as he recovers at home, Garza said he appreciates the simple things.
“I didn’t realize how tightly wound up I was before the surgery,” Garza told the Chronicle. “I’m enjoying life more now. My wife and I are closer now that we have ever been before. I’m bonding more with my family and friends.”
He has a message: COVID is real. He said it’s nothing to dismiss as a political issue.
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