HONESDALE, Pa. — A man from Wayne County is sharing his story after being unvaccinated and hospitalized for COVID-19.
Jeremy Watson from Honesdale tested positive for COVID-19 last October and is finally feeling closer to normal after the virus put the healthy man from Wayne County in the hospital, fighting for his life.
"I go into the ER, they put me on oxygen, do a scan of my chest, and the doctor comes in, and he confirms that I had double pneumonia and COVID. 'So, we're admitting you.' I said, 'OK, it's going to be a few days in the hospital, here we go.'"
Watson, 33, was admitted to Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale, but his condition worsened, and he was flown to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, where doctors explained the severity of his situation. If his oxygen levels didn't improve, he would have to be put on a ventilator or possibly face a lung transplant and a lengthy hospital stay.
"I realized I had two options. One was either to succumb and let this beat me and just lay there and just be another stat, or the other was to beat it, to completely dominate it, and go after it. So I took the second option," Watson said.
Watson says he focused on getting back to his family. That was what pushed him to get better. After over a week in the hospital, Watson went home. He says the virus really caught him off guard because he never had any underlying health issues and kept up a fitness routine and good diet. He feels the only thing he could've done differently was get vaccinated.
"Nothing is guaranteed in life. This is such a beast of an illness. Some people get a sniffle, and they're fine. Other people react like I did, and I don't know, is it something in my body that made me react that way? I don't know the answers, but I think the benefits outweigh the cost at this point."
Watson says he's thankful for all the doctors and nurses who cared for him at both hospitals and has been cleared to get his first dose of vaccine next week.
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