Nathan Washam is a survivor. At 22, he was diagnosed with stage 4 testicular cancer. He won that battle and went on to marry his best friend, Sarah, and together, they are raising two teenagers in Windsor, Colorado.

But on Jan. 24, 2021, Washam was hospitalized with COVID-19. He spent 71 days in the hospital. He now shares his story and his message to the health care teams who helped save his life.

“I had stage 4 cancer and tons of chemo. I was on my death bed,” he said. “But I’ll go through that 100 times before I’d go through this again.”

Washam and his family urge people to wear their masks and get vaccinated to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Yes, you can survive it. Most people will,” Washam said about COVID-19. “But it doesn’t mean you won’t suffer. It doesn’t mean that you won’t be extremely messed up by it.”