Surviving COVID-19 With the Help of a Brother and Cousin

It was December of last year and 60 year-old Pedro "Raul" Trejo from Staten Island had a bad case of the flu, fourteen days of chills and a fever. Trejo, is a husband, father and grandfather plus a native from Ecuador who served 29 years with the Ecuadorian Marines. This was only nine months ago and the phrase of "social distancing" hadn't made it to our vocabulary yet and there was no testing back then. In no time, the virus would soon consume this country two to three months later where it would soon be known as the "coronavirus" or the novel "COVID-19".

Many people who felt they had gotten sick in the weeks and a few months prior to March 2020, could almost say now that they survived it without knowing they definitely had it. Pedro was one of those people, but later on, it was confirmed at Staten Island University Hospital that he had the coronavirus. It is unknown how Pedro may have been exposed to COVID-19, perhaps on the job as a laborer where he moves boxes and shipments as a stock clerk. Pedro is generally healthy except for high blood pressure that he takes medication for, but physically, he has a strong heart.

After his bout with his fever in December, Pedro got better and became symptom free for Christmas time, January and February. March became a different story when his symptoms returned but stronger this time and by March 24, Pedro was worst off where he had trouble breathing, a tight chest and bad headaches and was breathing through a tube. He was taken to Staten Island University Hospital on April 4 where he saw doctors for bronchitis and a spiking fever, then it was confirmed he had COVID-19. Doctors prescribed antibiotics and a cream he needed for a burning sensation he was experiencing in his rectal area and remained at the hospital until early June.

Then there was an insurance situation where Pedro didn't have money for the insurance and he wanted to see the doctor for medication, but his visit with was rejected due to having no insurance. As Pedro had started to recover, he still couldn’t get all medication he needed at Staten Island University Hospital, so was discharged and sent home due to the hospital needing the bed for sicker patients. On top of all that, Pedro contracted MRSA at Staten Island University Hospital.

"I was scared but this virus really knocks you out," said Pedro. "The coughing wouldn't stop and the headaches was so bad. They (the doctors) were still learning about this so there's not much they can do except to rest."

This is when Pedro's brother Felix jumped in and offered his sick brother a bed in his Crown Heights apartment. Pedro is one of four brothers and two sisters in his family. When Felix offered his apartment to Pedro, he agreed and Felix picked up Pedro to take him to his Brooklyn apartment. All Felix wanted to do is to make certain that he was being taken care of.

"They are such great brothers and I remember them as great cousins," said Jacqueline Hernandez, a younger cousin of Pedro and Felix who resides in Poughkeepsie, New York. "They are my favorite cousins and they used to pick me up from school when I was little back in Ecaudor. This is what family is for and I love them."

Soon after Pedro moved in, Felix started getting sick but thankfully, not nearly as bad as Pedro. On June 12 after Pedro started to get better again, Felix took Pedro for physical therapy to Brooklyn Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, then on Coney Island Avenue (now relocated on Buffalo Avenue in Crown Heights). After weeks of solid physical therapy, Pedro was discharged home on July 14.

Pedro, like so many other COVID-19 survivors, had their bodies ravished from the virus whereby months later, still not themselves at 100 percent. Even in August, Pedro's balance is still off, he is very lethargic, thankfully is no pain, except for his knees and shoulders and he experiences dizziness at night. Although he walks a lot, he goes in and out of depression.

Earlier this month, Pedro had the trachea removed from his throat, another sign of recovery. These days, Pedro isn't working because he concentrates on getting stronger at Felix's apartment in Brooklyn. He's back to his favorite things in life such as doing his Word Search, reading, watching TV, taking walks and tries to live day-to-day to put the virus behind him once and for all. Although he is planning on visiting another brother in New Orleans and plans to return to Ecuador, one thing is first and foremost, to recover from the coronavirus.