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An Oklahoma firefighter is recovering from a double lung transplant after the organs were ravaged by COVID-19.
Stillwater Fire Capt. Randy Blake, 44, contracted the virus in October, KOCO-TV reports. He had no other underlying health conditions, but his condition continued to deteriorate until he ended up in a hospital intensive care unit.
Blake eventually was placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for over a month, was given a tracheotomy and received treatments for blood clots. The virus, however, so severely damaged Blake's lungs that he required a double lung transplant.
He finally received the transplant when two lungs become available after four months in the hospital. The surgery was performed at St. Joseph's Norton Thoracic Institute in Phoenix.
“You guys saved my life,” Blake said to the health care workers involved in his treatment, according to KOCO. “I’m forever grateful. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
Now Blake will spend his time recovering and regaining his strength. He also lost 55 pounds from the ordeal.
“I will spend the rest of my life trying to honor what you’ve done and what God’s done,” he said, according to KOCO.
