{"id":30438,"date":"2020-04-01T09:49:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T15:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=30438"},"modified":"2023-01-30T13:05:19","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T20:05:19","slug":"grateful-to-be-alive-after-covid-19-ernesto-castro-lives-to-tell-story-about-life-on-a-ventilator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/grateful-to-be-alive-after-covid-19-ernesto-castro-lives-to-tell-story-about-life-on-a-ventilator\/","title":{"rendered":"Grateful to be alive: Ernesto Castro lives to tell his story about surviving COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"COVID-19
Claudia, Ernesto and 18-month-old, Camila. Photo courtesy of Ernesto Castro.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a few days, on April 5, Ernesto Castro will celebrate his 35th birthday. It’s a special day that he feared he would never see.<\/p>\n

About two weeks ago, Castro began feeling ill. Maybe his asthma was acting up. After all, he\u2019d been training for a marathon.<\/p>\n

Castro is a man who has lived his life helping others. He has given his children, a son, 12, and a daughter, 18 months, his whole heart. At work, he\u2019s a social worker at a local health center and he works to break down barriers for others and solve problems for his neighbors.<\/p>\n

When he came down with a runny nose followed by\u00a0congestion, Castro figured he was getting the flu. When his symptoms worsened, he realized that this time, he was the one who needed help.<\/p>\n

He remembers the hospital, his care givers and how awful he felt.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like the flu, but not the flu,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is hard to explain. I lost a lot of sensations, not just my breathing, but I couldn\u2019t think correctly. I felt like my lungs were getting harder, and the only thing to make me feel better was to cough up something that wasn\u2019t there. The sensation was overwhelmingly hard because of the breathing, congestion and constant coughing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Just before he was placed in a medically-induced coma and on a ventilator \u2014 he learned he had the novel coronavirus<\/a>. He fought for his life.<\/p>\n

After 10 days in the hospital, nurtured by the care of brave nurses and doctors, Castro donned a clean face mask on March 30. Nurses pushed his wheelchair out of UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland<\/a>. He was overjoyed to see his girlfriend and his daughter. Because visitors had not been allowed in the hospital, Castro had not seen his family in nearly two weeks..<\/p>\n

When nurses wheeled him to his girlfriend’s car, he saw his little girl smiling at him from her car seat. He couldn\u2019t hold back the tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cried,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cI cried the moment I saw her. I felt like I had missed out on months of her life. And I need her like I need oxygen. She is my joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The attack of the coronavirus<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A caseworker at a care facility in Greeley,\u00a0Castro spends his days helping clients and troubleshooting problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome patients you connect with, and I was raised so when someone extends their hand, you shake it with a yes, sir, yes, ma\u2019am,\u201d Castro said. \u201cI was interacting with a patient, helping him out, and I remember shaking hands with him, and I forgot to sanitize my hand after. Later, I remember having that odd feeling: Was that guy sick? Did he have the flu?\u201d<\/p>\n

While its impossible to know whether Castro contracted COVID-19 that day, he soon noticed the runny nose, congestion and a cough. He took a few sick days and quarantined himself at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the type of person who always looks at the good side of things,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m rarely ever sick. I was confident that it was just the flu and not a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, as a health care worker, Castro decided to be \u201cbetter safe than sorry\u201d and scheduled a visit with his primary care doctor.<\/p>\n

Based on Castro’s symptoms, his doctor suspected COVID-19<\/a>. Castro still was not convinced. He held onto his doctor\u2019s note for off-site COVID-19 testing and headed home to isolate himself and ride it out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was just me having the flu and being a big baby,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Four days later, Castro was too weak to drive himself to a testing site. He started to hallucinate, and his other symptoms were now much worse.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 is more severe for older people and those with compromised immune systems and other chronic conditions. Castro, though, found out the virus does not discriminate. Young and healthy, Castro had risk factors that include prediabetes and asthma, both of which made him more susceptible to complications from the virus. And working in a health care setting had put him at greater risk of contracting it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had always been kind of healthy, but I broke down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Castro\u2019s girlfriend, Claudia, took him to the local emergency room at UCHealth Greeley Hospital<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Covid-19
Ernesto Castro, center, waits for his ride with registered nurse Melanie Roth, left, and nurse manager Rickie Rump, on Monday, March 30, after spending 10 days at UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies battling COVID-19. Photo by Kelly Tracer, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Caring for a COVID-19 patient<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Health workers greeted him and jumped into action.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmediately they started working on me,\u201d Castro said.<\/p>\n

Caregivers placed a mask on him and isolated him in a patient room, where a doctor and nurses ran tests, listened to his lungs and ruled out other possibilities. He was tested for COVID-19.<\/p>\n

It took days to receive confirmation that he did indeed have COVID-19, but that didn\u2019t delay care. Castro\u2019s symptoms were severe enough that a positive test wouldn\u2019t have changed his care plan. Medical providers needed to act immediately to give him a fighting chance to survive and make it to his next birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t stress enough the amazing job they all did with me,\u201d Castro said. \u201cAs soon as I walked in I felt that they cared. They truly do love what they do and have a passion for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for the UCHealth staff, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dealing with severe COVID-19<\/strong><\/h3>\n

That evening, Castro was whisked away in an ambulance to UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies<\/a> in Loveland, where he spent the next nine days in the intensive care unit before becoming stable enough to be moved to the medical unit.<\/p>\n

Just before he was moved, he was able to call his girlfriend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I don\u2019t see you guys, this is goodbye,\u2019\u2019 he told her. \u201cI love you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jordan Castro with his sister, Camila. Photo courtesy of Ernesto Castro.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Castro was right to be worried. His condition grew worse.<\/p>\n

Three days into his visit, test results confirmed COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just lay there, thinking, \u2018What\u2019s the next step? What\u2019s going to happen? Is it curable? Am I going to die?\u2019\u201d Castro said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to lie \u2014 I was terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castro\u2019s condition deteriorated and his medical team made the decision to put him in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator. His lungs were too weak and his heart was trying to compensate and working too hard. His body needed to rest in order to fight. Doctor\u2019s reassured him that they had placed people in medically-induced comas and on ventilators many times. But Castro worried. His brother had gone through something similar as a result of drug and substance use, and Castro felt his brother was never the same after that. Since visitors are not allowed in hospitals during this coronavirus pandemic<\/a>, Castro had to endure the news alone.<\/p>\n

Helping the body fight the coronavirus <\/strong><\/h3>\n

About four days later, Castro woke from his coma.<\/p>\n

\u201cDays had passed and I had no idea of anything \u2014 I didn\u2019t even know the basics like who I was or where I was at.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his care team dressed head-to-toe in personal protective equipment (PPE), Castro recognized his care givers only by their eyes and voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest thing was my pride,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m so used to helping everyone out that I never thought I\u2019d be in this situation. Having me being comforted and helped by UCHealth has truly been a blessing. They didn\u2019t just help me physically, they helped me mentally, emotionally, spoke with me and some even prayed with me. I\u2019ve never been in a facility like that, and it gave me a really warm feeling that I\u2019ll never stop thanking them.\u201d<\/p>\n

That mental and emotional help was so important, he explained. He\u2019d lost his cell phone upon arriving at the hospital, and it was days before it was found. Not being able to see his family wrenched his heart, but even when hospital employees returned his phone to him, FaceTime visits just weren’t enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son would call me every day or text me. The hardest thing was to take that call, to tell him that I had to work on myself right now. My son needs a father and someone there for him,\u201d Castro said.<\/p>\n

\"COVID-19
Claudia, Ernesto and 18-month-old, Camila. Photo courtesy of Ernesto Castro.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cLots of times, I kid you not, I thought I wasn\u2019t going to make it. But my faith and my children really motivated me to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recovering from COVID-19<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Castro will always remember the names of some of his nurses. He calls them \u201creal heroes\u201d who \u201cdealt with me in my darkest times. But really, I want to thank every last person there,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are so multi-talented, good-natured and so kind. I wish I could go there and thank every single person personally, but that\u2019s not possible right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back at home, Castro continues to self-quarantine. Shortly after he was admitted to the hospital, his girlfriend Claudia came down with a fever and tested positive for COVID-19. It has already spread through their household; their 18-month-old daughter came down with a fever during Castro\u2019s early symptoms but recovered in only a few days.<\/p>\n

Claudia is now back to work. And Castro will spend the next few weeks being a stay-at-home dad. He\u2019s starting with baby steps to get his lungs and his body healthy again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still not 100%,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m still weak and tired and have multiple follow-up Virtual Visits<\/a> with my doctors, but it\u2019s OK because I\u2019m strong enough to prove to the doctors that I can do this. Too many days passed without me seeing my kids and family.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

On April 5, Ernesto Castro, Claudia and the kids will quietly celebrate his birthday. And simply being alive will be the greatest gift he ever could have received.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a few days, on April 5, Ernesto Castro will celebrate his 35th birthday. It’s a special day that he feared he would never see. About two weeks ago, Castro began feeling ill. Maybe his asthma was acting up. After all, he\u2019d been training for a marathon. Castro is a man who has lived his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2164,"featured_media":30442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4859,4860,1065,272,1789],"class_list":["post-30438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-greeley","tag-uchealth-greeley-hospital","tag-uchealth-medical-center-of-the-rockies"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGrateful to be alive after COVID-19, patient tells his story - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It started with a runny nose and then his condition deteriorated rapidly. 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