Fall 2022 Hardlines Strategies

“But I was moved to the intensive care unit within 30 minutes of my arrival.” Strict protocol kept Vince isolated from his family during this time, though he was able to see them through the glass of his hospital room and speak to them on FaceTime. Just eight days after arriving at the hospital, Vince’s health declined further and doctors informed him he would need to be placed on a ventilator. “It came as a shock,” Vince says. “I knew I was struggling with my breathing, but I didn’t know it was that bad; there wasn’t anything else they could do.” After calling his family and informing them of the situation, Vince was placed on a ventilator and spent the next 31 days in an induced coma. “I don’t remember hardly anything from that time,” Vince says. “But I know at one point the doctor told my wife he didn’t think I would make it. She begged them to help me through it, saying ‘If you

Vince then attended another rehab center, whose goal is to have patients spend less than two weeks at the facility. “I participated in a lot of testing initially to establish a baseline,” Vince says. “They asked me when I was hoping to leave the facility; I said I wanted to be out by my birthday, which I was successful in doing.” After spending nine days at his final rehab center, Vince finally returned home in October, 61 days after his initial hospital visit. Many of the following days were spent at home doing additional rehab. In December, Vince returned to Texas Tool & Equipment, working part time before returning to full-time work by the beginning of the new year. “That first week full time just about killed me,” Vince says. “Being on my feet for over eight hours on the concrete floor was exhausting at the beginning. But from there, my energy levels and physical capabilities kept getting better and better.”

can get him past this, he’ll follow through on all the recovery protocols and rehab.’” And he did. Nearly 40 days after Vince arrived at the hospital, he was taken off the ventilator and moved to Covenant Medical Center where he spent 10 days in recovery. The Road to Recovery COVID-19 took an extreme toll on Vince’s body. “I lost 60 pounds throughout the whole process,” Vince says. “At the time, it was hard for me to understand how sick I had been and still was.” Vince had to relearn how to walk and took speech therapy, and for three weeks after the coma, he could only eat ice chips because he was still hooked up to a feeding tube. “I can’t say it was pleasant,” Vince says. “Seeing people eat in front of me was tough, but I wanted my family to be with me as much as possible.”

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22 Fall 2022 • Hardlines Strategies