'How is this man even conscious?'

Charles Thompson recently cut the grass and played some golf. Like many people, he’s also working from home.

But to Thompson, 46 of Joliet, deputy director of men’s treatment at the Cook County sheriff’s office, the ability to perform those activities is a miracle, he said.

Thompson is recovering from a severe case of COVID-19. He spent nearly five weeks at Silver Cross Hospital, including two in the intensive care unit on a ventilator.

His only lingering side effect is forgetting to breathe when he “does things like lifting weights,” he said,

Thompson said he now understands why “it’s hard for people to come back” once they’ve been on a ventilator.

“But I’m teaching myself to breathe through these things,” Thompson said. “For the most part, I’m OK.”

Thompson’s only symptoms when he first felt sick in mid-March was a fever and lethargy. He did a telemed visit with his doctor, who prescribed some antibiotics.

But the fever kept returning and he became short of breath, although he had no cough. So Thompson scheduled a second video visit.

The doctor then prescribed a strong cough syrup and an inhaled bronchodilator, he said. In the meantime, Thompson’s mother Priscilla Thompson, who lives with him, also became ill with COVID-19 and was hospitalized for five days, he said.

The day after Priscilla was hospitalized, Charles called his sister Wanda Thompson Wright of Joliet to take him to Silver Cross’ emergency department. The wait was long and Charles recalled leaning against a wall.

“A couple of nurses down the line looked at me and told someone to get me a wheelchair,” Charles said. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I must have looked really bad.”

Charles said after his blood pressure and oxygen levels were checked “everyone started freaking out.”

“My oxygen was 61,” Charles said. “They thought the machine was wrong. They were just like, ‘How is this man even conscious?’ I think I remember people moving around me. All of a sudden, the lights went out. And I woke up 14 days later.”

When Charles awakened, he was in the ICU with “people in space suits.” He recalled strange dreams of being kidnapped. One medicine caused visual hallucinations and had to be changed, he said.

Charles spent another week in the ICU on oxygen and was then moved to Silver Cross’ COVID-19 unit. Some of his complications included an enlarged heart and possibility of a heart attack (“I was told they had to use the paddle to bring me back when I accidentally went out in the ER,” Thompson said) and a fast heart rate.

He said the virus caused his blood to be “so thick” that he received blood thinners to prevent blood clots.

“They told me at one point that it was so dire that, if I did live, I might need a lung transplant or be on dialysis for the rest of my life or need a kidney transplant or have heart issues,” Charles said.

Charles also lost about 60 pounds in the hospital and his muscles had atrophied. He recalled the first time he tried to stand with the help of a walker and oxygen. By then he was moving into his fourth week at the hospital.

“I could only stand for 12 seconds and I was out of breath,” Charles said. “I had to lay down and went to sleep for six hours afterwards.”

Charles wondered if he “would ever be normal again.” But then his insurance approved him for three weeks of rehabilitation, he said.

However, his heart rate needed to come down and his fever, which was still persisting, had to normalize before he could begin rehab, he said.

After one week, Thompson improved so much he was released from the hospital.

That was about the middle of May, he said. Thompson had plenty of follow ups with specialists and continues to practice the routines he learned in occupational and physical therapy, he said.

“I finally got the last bill of health with my stress test I did last week,” Thompson said. “All came out great. It looks like I did not have a heart attack after all.”

He’s especially thankful for all the support he received from loved ones, especially his sister.

“The type of support from my sister at this time was incredible,” Thompson said. “My sister had to make a lot of medical decisions for me and my mother. And because she’s smart and educated, she was able to make some incredible decisions that probably saved my life.”