CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — It’s been nearly nine months since Gary West was hospitalized with COVID-19, but the effects on his body continue to persist.
The 40-year nurse and veteran from Lynchburg spent weeks in the hospital after becoming severely ill with the virus.
While no longer positive, doctors were unsure how long the lasting effects would have on his body.
“Between them working with my lungs and stuff, I’ve been able to at least work an 8-hour day job, but it has been a long haul,” West said. “I’m just happy that I was given the chance to have that long haul because I almost didn’t get it.”
Last Summer, as he lay in his hospital bed, West said he wasn’t sure if he would be able to see his family again.
“When you go in there… you have all these thoughts about the people that you didn’t get to see and say things to them,” West said, “and just some of them you just wanted to tell them you loved them one last time, but you couldn’t breathe well enough to even hardly get the words out.”
Since then, he’s been receiving care for ongoing respiratory issues, which made walking, early on, a challenge.
“Now, I’m actually up to where I’m working on the treadmill,” West said. “I no longer am on any of the medications for my lungs. I’m not on any medication for breathing treatments.”
Still, life has changed for him. Before COVID-19, West was on the floor working with patients at a long-term care facility.
“I took a management job… but I enjoyed being right there on the floor with all the patients all day. That’s my favorite, that’s why I went into this,” West said, “but when you can’t stay on your feet for 12 hours, you know, you’ve got to survive.”
Also, his sense of taste and smell, he said, still has not returned.
“I’ve taken both of the vaccines now, the Moderna. Hopefully, with that in my system, that’ll help things move along and progress even further,” West said, “but that’s no guarantee either. There’s no guarantee for tomorrow. So, we’ve got to do everything we can to try to get rid of this virus out there and everyone’s going to have to work together.”
West said he’s going to be participating in a 5K race this weekend. He said he’s going to be walking, but he’s hopeful that one day he’ll be able to get back to doing all the things he loved before he got the virus.