ATLANTA — A north Georgia truck driver is sharing his road to recovery after he was diagnosed with the coronavirus and is also giving a warning as the state continues the first phase of reopening.
Lorenzo Jackson told Channel 2 anchor Jorge Estevez that he spent time in New York City right before the city became a hot zone for the virus.
He was on his way to make a delivery when he practically passed out behind the wheel.
"When did you know that you were experiencing something more than just your average cold?" Estevez asked Jackson.
[READ: CORONAVIRUS IN GEORGIA: GA becomes 11th state to report more than 1,000 deaths]
“Well, I had all been hearing on the news and stuff about the coronavirus and some of the symptoms that other people (were having). I was going to make a delivery. I went and I broke out in this sweat. As if I just played three games of basketball."
As an experienced truck driver, Jackson said he knew it wasn’t just exhaustion that was setting in behind the wheel.
“I would say it happen within the hour, hour-and-a-half where I started feeling these feelings and so on. The way back I started (feeling) like I was about to pass out. I’d have a coughing spell, I can barely breathe, I was wheezing as I breathed. I got really bad,” Jackson said.
He said his symptoms got so bad that he was barely home a day when his wife took him to Piedmont Henry Hospital.
“At that moment, did you feel at all that that could have been the last time you saw your wife?” Estevez asked Jackson.
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“That is why I was so nervous because when I called her I could barely tell her that I can’t really breathe too good. And she just kept saying, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘Baby I can’t really breathe. It is really hard for me to believe.’ That’s when I really started getting nervous," Jackson said.
Jackson would end up in a coma for six days on machines that kept him alive. He thanks the staff at Piedmont Henry for saving his life.
"All the fear that I had at any time, if I was uncomfortable at any time, they reassured me. They treated me so, so good. I am so grateful," Jackson said.
Jackson told Estevez, looking back, he believes that he had the coronavirus while visiting his kids in New York City, when cases were just beginning and admits he didn’t take it seriously enough.
"I guess I was one of them people who didn’t take it too seriously because my wife said, ‘Babe, I don’t think you should go right now.’ I was like, ‘I will be all right,’” Jackson said.
But he wasn’t all right.
“Looking back, even today, what message do you have for people who, even today, may not take it that seriously?” Estevez asked Jackson.
"I want to tell them to take this thing very, very serious. Your life and your family’s life depend on this. It is not a joke. This is not a game. This is real. The whole world is going through this and you really need to take it seriously," Jackson said.
Jackson said when he gets 100% better he wants to find a way to express his gratitude for the staff at Piedmont Henry for all they did for him.
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