BLOOMINGTON — A 30-year-old man is sharing his story after COVID-19 left him hospitalized in the intensive care unit for several days.
Charles Fields says it started off with a stuffy nose. He says he didn't have any previous medical issues.
Days later, he found himself in the emergency room with a 104-degree fever.
He said he didn't think he had COVID-19 but just a bad sinus infection. Healthcare workers took an X-ray of his lungs and saw there was stuff in there.
The next day, he was back in the emergency room because he fatigued and was short of breath.
"And then that's when they found out I have double pneumonia too," Fields said. "And then, I remember the two days they finally got my fever down. And then I felt great that one day, and then that night it's just like everything went south. My breathing just cut off."
He was taken into the intensive care unit at IU Health Bloomington Hospital, was put on a CPAP machine, and given some medications.
"And then it felt like maybe 10 minutes later I was out," Fields said. "So 18 days later, I woke up, up here."
He says he was still fatigued and his mind was cloudy. Because he was by himself due to visitor restrictions, he says he was lonely.
"Life's short, you just don't know what's going to happen," Fields said. "I mean yeah, you might not see it or you may just see videos of it or whatever. But, it's real. I wish people understood that. But not to live life in fear. I mean, I'm not trying to live my life in fear. I'm trying to go out, do what I used to do. But, I take all of the precautions that I need to take."
He is still meeting with healthcare workers to make sure he is progressing and help them learn more about the virus.
