Physical trainer on oxygen, in a wheelchair after 2 months of battle against COVID-19

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LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KUSA) – A former Colorado fitness trainer regrets not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine after spending two months in hospital battling the virus. He now uses a wheelchair to get around and has a long recovery in front of him.

Bill Phillips is hoping his experience with COVID-19 will convince others to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated. The 56-year-old will be discharged from hospital 70 pounds lighter on Wednesday after the virus nearly killed him.

“To see Bill go from being such a strong, vibrant, happy person to a person who can barely stand,” said Maria Phillips, Bill’s wife.

Bill Phillips says he made a mistake in deciding not to get the shot. He first caught COVID-19 in January 2020 and thought he was immune. A test revealed that he had antibodies against the virus.

But then he caught COVID again in June – and ended up spending two months in the hospital. He was intubated for 47 days and did not wake up for 18 days.

“I’m pretty sure the doctor said, ‘You have two choices: we can either intubate him now or he’ll die on the table,” “said Maria Phillips.

With the former fitness trainer now using a wheelchair to get around, Bill Phillips and his wife are on a trip he hadn’t planned on.

“It didn’t help that I could push down on a 300-pound bench or run a mile straight up a hill,” he said. “I made a mistake. This mistake almost cost me my life.

The hospital stay was painful for the couple. Maria Phillips explained how difficult it was to watch her once-bad husband suffer for so long.

“If Bill knew everything, the trauma, the pain, that I was going to have to endure every day for the past two months, seeing him so sick, I think he would have been vaccinated if he had known how much pain it was. was going to talk, ”she said.

Indeed, Bill Phillips says that if he had the opportunity to do it again, he would do it differently.

“Get the hang of it. Get the vaccine. Go on with your life. Don’t take risks, ”he said.

The couple hope their painful memories will encourage others to get the shot.

“Becoming so, so sick like this is so preventable. Most people who are vaccinated will not be in this situation, ”said Maria Phillips.

Bill Phillips plans to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on his birthday in September. His wife was vaccinated while he was in intensive care. Like her husband, she had already had the virus and mistakenly believed she was immune.

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