'It was a miracle': from COVID-19 coma to recovery
At first, Francisco Garcia's symptoms were mild: a headache, fever, and he tested positive for the novel coronavirus in April.
While COVID-19 is frequently more severe in older patients, the 31-year-old Los Angeles resident's condition quickly deteriorated.
"I just remember being in the hospital close to my house. And after that, I don't remember anything, because I was like, I was out."
Garcia slipped into a coma.
"It was really hard on us. But we never lost hope."
His sister Lorena watched helplessly, as he was transferred between four different hospitals in total.
Doctors recommended to his family they turn off life his life support.
"So my dad told them, no, just keep on giving him the medication. Let's see what happens. Then two or three days passed and that's when he started bleeding from his brain."
But his family insisted on treating him, and Garcia eventually woke up.
"Everybody was telling that it was a miracle that I actually survived what I went through."
That miracle is mixed with feelings of helplessness.
His mother suffers from cancer. His sister is diagnosed with lupus.
Garcia is the primary provider at home, and he'd been hospitalized for four months.
"I felt like, useless, sometimes, when I was in the hospital. Just knowing that my mom and my sister are sick and everything and I can't do nothing about it. That kind of like hurt me."
He says he wants his old life back.
"But I just want to get back to how I was. That my stamina is strong. That I could walk without a walker, go up the stairs without any help. And like, probably run and start to play again. And try to catch up with my life."
