(WSVN) - A New Jersey couple with family in South Florida said they’ve beaten the odds after they contracted COVID-19 and are currently in recovery.
Ezekiel and Margaret Mercado said they’re thankful their story has a happy ending, but for some time, it did not seem to be heading in that direction.
“Thank you for all the prayers,” said Ezekiel from his hospital bed.
Ezekiel said he was so sick that he spent 10 days in the hospital, part of that time in the intensive care unit.
“It’s still hard to breathe, still very weak,” he said in one of several videos he posted to Facebook.
When he was able, Ezekiel would post his progress online.
“Through your prayers, I’m getting strength to keep fighting every day,” he said.
Ezekiel said he spent five days on a ventilator.
“They told me, ‘We’re going to put you on the ventilator,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, OK,’ and then shortly after, I just started fading away,” he said.
Meanwhile, Margaret started showing symptoms of the virus a few days after her husband.
“It was scary, and I felt very lonely,” she said.
At its worst, Margaret’s fever hit 102.5, but she was able to ride it out at home with Kylo, the couple’s dog.
“I was, like, sleeping most of the time, with fevers and a lot of body aches, a lot of headaches,” she said. “At the same time, I was worried about my husband, so I kept calling the ICU all the time.”
The couple, who have been married four years, kept in touch via FaceTime as they rode out their symptoms.
“I kept in constant contact with her to make sure that she’s OK,” said Ezekiel. “Thank God I have family and friends that we’re close with and were constantly checking up on her.”
“There was one day that it got scary. I thought I was going to pass out because I was feeling very weak. I couldn’t breathe too good,” said Margaret.
After five days in intensive care, Ezekiel went into recovery.
“I can breathe a little better,” he said in one of his Facebook videos.
“I’m thinking two, maybe three days had passed by, but at this point it was seven or eight days,” said Ezekiel, “and it was very confusing when I woke up. I didn’t know what was going on. They had to explain things to me.”
Ezekiel is now home from the hospital, and Margaret just got the all clear from her doctor. The couple said the best thing to do is stay home as much as possible during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We were very careful. We were extra careful, and we got it still,” said Margaret, “so everybody out there needs to be extra careful and take care of themselves.”
The couple said they’re thankful they are in recovery because they know others have not been as lucky.
Even though they’re through the worst of it, they said they will remain in isolation for two more weeks, until Ezekiel is fully recovered.
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