Reporter Gilbert Baez describes 'uncontrollable coughing' and struggles to breathe after getting COVID-19

mm

Mhm

So um whenever I do a facebook live I always

tell you I got a good story

Uh huh

But I don't want to be the story but I

am the story

Mhm mr You know when you get uh Mhm Covid

19 disappear disappeared off the planet people kind of issue

and they wonder wonderful girl it is

Okay

Mhm I am been trying to do this facebook glad

for the past couple of days and uh I haven't

had the strength um let me see how the bed

I'm not trying to tell you all do whatever anything

I just wanted to thank all my friends and family

folks for for the support

Mm It kind of tell you I ended up here

mm and I wanted to do it

Yeah before I have another coughing spell let me start

off by saying that I am a caper value Medical

center arrived thursday night um and plan to come to

the hospital

Mhm fully vaccinated by the way

I'm on an isolated mhm

Covid board here at the hospital

Everyone on this floor is a either

on oxygen

Alright then later I'm the only one that had shots

I'm the only one without oxygen or a ventilator

But my conditions yeah fluctuating

So yeah here's a short of how I got here

Had planned a I was on vacation and that planned

a big 66 year old birthday party at a club

up in Raleigh

Covid numbers started going up

Club owner and I thought that's not a good idea

We cancel that and everybody agreed it's the best thing

to do

My wife and I adores decided to have 10 friends

at the house stipulation had to be vaccinated in order

to come from my birthday celebration which was sunday

Uh huh

Uh huh august 15th birthday

Just 16

Mm

Uh huh

Has a good time

Everybody seemed fine

Uh huh

By Wednesday I went down to this is the play

golf trained on me a little bit

I thought I got golfers a little cold for being

outside

Um My wife was that our house up in the

UK

I called to check on her and she said she

didn't feel that good and I wasn't feeling good

We both decided to test for Covid

We both came back positive

five of the 10 people who are positive at the

house

Everyone had the vaccine

Mhm

The delta variant does not care

We took every precaution

The delta Varian does not care

Mm Now the good news is and My wife and

the other four were able to recover at home and

they're doing fine

Okay

Um I unfortunately did not fare as well and the

Tylenol was not bringing the 100 and two degree temperature

down as long as I sit still like I am

now I'm okay

That's what what was happening at the house

I could sit and watch movies and well we watched

a lot of movies

Um But when I got up it was not good

Come on in Everybody is here

Yeah I'm talking to the people

All right okay

Did it come up It went down I had a

coughing spell

Okay

No I'm good right now

Thank you

Uh huh

The nurses and everyone here are outstanding

I just had a coughing spell and so I've got

monitor on him

Mhm

My breathing went down into the 80s

So when that happens they come knock on the door

and make sure I'm okay

And Master level is actually still in the 90s

Uh huh But I'll tell you why I'm having this

battle now with the oxygen

So 4 - five have recovered at home

Uh I decided thursday that I had to come to

the hospital Tylenol and music um the Gatorade step of

the house

Any medicine in order to fight what was happening to

me mm And they brought me in

I hadn't eaten in three days

I have lost £14, 15 lbs

I just had no appetite

Meanwhile my wife Doris was making bacon days and cooking

and scrambling and carrying on she couldn't smell I could

smell but I could need so when she made it

I told her it smelled good but we need it

Mhm

So she is a recovered and I needed more assistance

and staff here at Cape Fear took me in and

I remember rolling into the emergency room and everyone just

stopping and looking at I saw the patients up and

down the hall in the ICU is overwhelming to see

all the people who are here fighting for their lives

Uh huh

It took me in and gave me antibiotics gave me

medicine for my nauseous feeling

And that started things working

I'm starting to shake a little bit

Mhm mm

So um after they did that was like almost immediately

got an appetite again

Mhm

Those of you know I've been vegan and vegetarian presbyterian

baptist I've been everything and the I ate everything they

put on the plate

My appetite came back and that's a good sign

They've had me on tv and diabetic

Mm numbers sugar numbers been up in there been able

to um give me insulin to control that

And a lot of that is uh some of the

medications that they're giving me that making my sugar levels

go out

So I have underlined the condition of 66

Mhm

Thank God I had to vaccines to keep me fighting

at the level that I'm fighting now compared to my

colleagues

Uh huh

These walls are thin and we hear each other's calls

calling my coffin

But I have not met him

I'm not allowed to walk up and down the hallways

I get my exercise here in the room walking around

and uh you've done on this thing here in the

hospital

You see one of these things here each other help

build up my lungs and say this is the key

for me getting home blow this thing up

Um I'm compliant

I'm being a good patient and uh trying to thank

every health care worker who comes through this door for

what they're doing for me and everyone in this hospital

and one nurse told me that She's in her 30's

And I asked have we lost people on this floor

We have loans people

And she says that the sad part about it is

there are people her age and we cried together about

that to see the young people who are passing with

this at this point

Mm So the party got me here

House party

Personal house party at the house

10 people Not 300 at the club 10 people at

the house all vaccinated

5 - 10 got it

four of the five recovered and I'm fighting

Mhm

So because of my conditions in addition to the steroids

they're not giving me your in desert here

And so I had my first dose of that last

night

And so that's really started the battle

And uh after that went through my I've I had

the worst coughing style and breathing issues um that I

had experienced since I was in the hospital

In other words the medicine is working

It's getting the flame and fighting the virus in my

lungs is where it is

I was diagnosed with bacteria pneumonia

No way Tylenol was going to take care of that

at the house

So I guess what I want you to know is

do not hesitate do the best you can stay safe

But there's a doctor study even though there if you're

overwhelmed seek medical help before it gets too bad and

your lungs turned to glass

Um I was fortunate going to have the vaccine and

to come in and Hadad stacked in my favor when

I got here and that was a good thing

So the battle has begun as a five uh doses

of remdesivir one a day

But if I improve they can stop that and they

can send me home and I can continue to battle

at the house

Which is what I'm hoping for

Mhm

They've been feeding me good

I'm not too particular about food

I'm a ranger eating cameras c rations for those of

your old nose to know what that is

I don't celebrate food needed for the energy and they

wasn't able to do that

And I was part of my hand

My yeah getting sicker

So um I'm supporting my grey beard

My wife likes it

You ain't gonna see it on tv

Mhm

And uh let me say this about wrl the staff

of the management um really take care of their employees

I'm not the only one

There are others and the station chooses to take care

of its people

I don't have to worry about my pay and my

bills and my things

I worked for 1st class company that puts people first

and uh that's what you need

When do you go through something like this Yeah

My job is the voice of the voices

I'm supposed to be telling this story for you guys

up to you guys

And I've done that

I've tried to do that with dignity with everyone with

whom I've spoken and interviewed

And again I started this by saying I'm not telling

you to do anything

I just want you to know my story how I

ended up here

And Covid doesn't care who you are who you work

for what your job is

I talked to one nurse and I asked if she

want me to put my mask on

She said you don't have to

I've had Covid I said you did when she said

in november and she was give me my medicines and

we talked about it

I said well tell what was your experience like and

it was two months for her to recover from november

There was no remdesivir and does so I was really

impressed with the fact

And here is a nurse who had Covid who recovered

and who is back here in a room with a

man with Covid trying to help me get better

Yeah

Yeah

Mhm

Yeah

Mhm

Yeah

Yeah

That's

that's it

That's what these people are

Yeah

Don't forget there

That's it that these people are

Yeah

Yeah

Okay

That's what these people are

Yeah

Commission

Yeah

Okay

Risking their lives for us

Yeah every day

I thank each one of them when they come in

Maybe a plate to eat

Be able to take a needle stick and there's definitely

every needle in Cape there

Mhm Don't forget who these people are

God bless them all

Mhm mm hmm

So no

Uh huh

If you really don't mrs when we don't show up

on tv because you just figure we're doing something else

so you just didn't catch it

Uh huh

And I'm gonna be happy a little bit but have

got in my corner

Okay if he sees fit I'll be back

I'm sure I've been a good servant and um uh

I look forward to uh being back on television

But I wanted to can't you know why I'm not

around

I'm in good hands and my family and friends have

been in touch with me or not folks here at

the hospital

Cape Fear Valley Medical Center are doing an outstanding job

taking care of me

Uh huh

We'll hear the cost

Uh huh Through the doorways and my neighbor and I

I guess we're trying to help cough each other last

night

It got so bad he decided to turn his tv

up on me

Mhm And the black man out

Uh huh

And he was watching Shawshank Redemption which is my favorite

movie

So I cough a little bit louder so I can

hear it

No I didn't

Yes I did

Mhm

Uh huh

Yeah

This is a strange way to make friends

Hope you don't have to do this

I appreciate all of you who have listened to me

And this is the only one of these that I'm

going to do next time you'll see me well

BMW

R

F

Boarding and it's thank you

I love all of you