Joshua Garza had the opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in Houston, at the beginning of 2021, but he passed it up, thinking he didn’t really need to do it. The 43-year-old man has now decided to speak up and inspire others to get their vaccines before they become extremely ill.
Garza needed a rare double lung transplant following his COVID-19 diagnosis, as reported by Yahoo News.
“COVID ended up attacking my lungs,” Garza said for ABC News.
After he tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of January, Garza’s health went downhill extremely fast. On February 2 he ended up falling when he tried to walk. His wife called an ambulance, and he was taken to hospital immediately.
The man was eventually transferred to Houston Methodist, and he was put on life support.
“It was quick, it was within three weeks. They're telling you your lungs are failing, so you don't know if you're going to go to bed tonight and wake up tomorrow,” Garza told the news outlet.
Garza was included on the lung transplant list and on April 13 he successfully underwent the procedure. He needed several more weeks to regain his strength and he was released from hospital on May 27, as Yahoo News points out.
Lung transplants are reportedly a rare option for COVID-19 patients “with no other options,” Dr. Howard Huang, the medical director of lung transplantation at Houston Methodist and one of the doctors who treated Garza stated for ABC News.
“Mr. Garza is an extreme example of somebody who had complete lung failure, and there was really no other way out in the immediate future other than transplant,” the doctor said.
It was “miraculous” that Garza could be put on life support while the winter surge of virus cases was going on and he got matched with a donor so fast.
“Everything just lined up in his favor,” Dr. Huang added.
Houston Methodist has done eight double lung transplants for COVID-19 patients so far and there are several more on life support waiting for their transplant.
“These people are still fighting for their lives,” the Houston specialist concluded.