Californian woman, Andrea Arriaga Borges, is now urging citizens to become vaccinated after she spent two months in a coma due to COVID-19 last year.
Borges, 48, was not vaccinated when she fell ill with COVID-19 in May 2021, and ended up in the emergency room a few days later.
In an interview with CNN’s New Day, Borges recalls her tireless ordeal to relearn the necessary skills of human life.
“I was in a coma for 65 days, I spent a total of four and a half months in the hospital,” she recalls.
“I couldn’t walk, I lost my motor skills and my muscles dropped about 35 pounds and I came home in a wheelchair, I learned how to walk again,” Borges added.
While Borges had a remarkable recovery, the effects of COVID-19 stayed with her. This includes her raspy voice that she has had from a tracheotomy.
“The doctors told my children, my sister, my husband that I had a 5 per cent chance of survival, but I beat the odds and went home on August 29,” Borges noted.
Borges also pointed out that it was as a result of her brush with death that she is now urging people to get vaccinated.
“I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through.” She said.
“ The only thing I can say is just have an extra layer of protection and get vaccinated get the booster. I feel like everyone should have a choice but at the same time, it’s about protecting yourself and protecting others.” She added.
Meanwhile as the pandemic hurdles towards a third year, and ongoing surge along with the omicron variant continues to affect the United states.
On Sunday, the US broke its average daily case record with 403,385 infections recorded.
Additionally, hospitalizations are on the rise but the peak from last January was 54% higher according to data gathered from US Department of Health and Human Services.