Fort Worth-area man home after coronavirus infection had him in hospital for 11 days
When Charles Lowrey returned to his Haltom City home in the beginning of March, he was not feeling well, he said.
Lowrey, a 61-year-old truck driver, said he kept taking his temperature, which hovered around 100 degrees for days. After days of not having any appetite and not being able to keep down any liquids besides water, Lowrey said, his sons convinced him to go to a clinic.
Lowrey said a doctor told him he was suffering from food poisoning.
But days later, he was in an ambulance and attached to a ventilator on his way to Medical City North Hills hospital in North Richland Hills. Lowrey said his memories of the experience have become fragmented.
He said he went back to the clinic before he was rushed to the hospital and his temperature was 101.7 degrees.
“Then it just shot up to 107,” Lowrey said.
By the time Lowrey got to the hospital, he said, his test results came back positive for COVID-19. Lowrey, who was admitted on April 10, spent five days on a ventilator and the next six days in an intensive care unit. Lowrey was released from the hospital on Monday.
“I’m a truck driver and I drive all over the country, so I don’t know where I might have gotten it from,” Lowrey said. “I knew there was something wrong with my body, but I didn’t know it was the coronavirus.”
At the end of his stay at Medical City North Hills, Lowrey received a standing ovation from healthcare professionals as he was rolled down the hallway to the exit. Lowrey said he appreciated the hospital staff’s concern for his well-being.
“I’m not a guy who is big on a lot of hoopla, but I’m probably one of the first people to get out of there with no complications who has had the coronavirus,” Lowrey said. “So I understand where they were coming from. I thought it was pretty cool.”
It was strange not having family and friends at the hospital to support him, but they were praying for him and that gave him comfort, Lowrey said.
Having the disease was a battle, he said.
“I used to make light of this coronavirus, but I’ll never do that again,” Lowrey said. “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 1:41 PM.
