Lincoln man says he’s finally recovered from COVID-19 nearly a year later

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Gary West, 75, is finally back to his daily walks and normal routine after spending over 100 days in the hospital fighting COVID-19 last year.

“I get to thinking sometimes, I just wonder how I made it through it,” West said. “I was told by quite a few people that I shouldn’t have been alive, that I shouldn’t have got through what I got through for me being as sick as I was.”

While fighting COVID pneumonia, he also developed a hole in his lungs.

He was in the ICU at CHI Health St. Elizabeth for nearly two months.

“There were days that I would just wished I would die because I was in so much pain and I told my daughter that I couldn’t keep going,” West said.

After a little improvement, he was transferred to Madonna Rehab Hospital where he was released on December 29th, 2020. A late Christmas gift for his family and a milestone he never thought he would see.

“A year ago today, I was still in the hospital and finally got out, and I’m feeling very good now,” West said.

West says he feels almost 100% but it’s taken about a year to get to this point.

COVID has left a mark on his lungs and has changed the way he lives his life moving forward.

On certain days he still needs his oxygen tank, something he never needed before the coronavirus.

Looking back on his journey, he’s just grateful for all of his friends, family, and the healthcare workers, who gave him a second chance at life.

“Thank you and God bless you because, without your kind words and your prayers, thoughts, I wouldn’t be here today,” West said.