ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) –
Sgt. Steve Ramos of the Ector County Sheriff’s Office says he is lucky to be alive. He spent this past Christmas fighting COVID-19.
He got it in mid-December but went into the hospital over a week later when his oxygen saturation went below 70.
On Christmas Eve, Steve was put on a ventilator.
He even posted on Facebook, asking for prayers, and stating he didn’t want to die.
Many of you reached out to Steve.
It’s something he doesn’t forget.
“At that time, the Doctor said, ‘your lungs are filling up.’ And I said, ‘what does that mean?’ He said, ‘you’re about to die.’ So, I had no choice. When I got on it, that’s when I posted on Facebook,” Ramos explains.
Ramos was on the vent for four days and remembers when he came off and even what the Doctor said that gave him a huge relief.
“Four days later I came to. My wife had told me all of the things that happened to me. She’s the one that posted all that stuff on Facebook. It was a blessing because I never dreamed that Odessa had come together and prayed so hard,” said Ramos.
Through it all, Steve lost 50 pounds and now, three months later, he is back to work full-time.
He still has a cough but is thankful to be walking and talking and doesn’t take life for granted.
“I lost 50 pounds in a matter of ten, eleven days. That was due to COVID. I couldn’t believe it when I looked at myself. I was in good shape, I was like ‘where did all my muscles go?’” Ramos explained.
When he came off the vent, he remembers one thing his wife told him.
“She said, ‘have you checked your Facebook?’”
On his Facebook page, Ramos found a video from Randy and Mary Travis.
“Hey Steve, this is Mary and Randy Travis. We hear that you have been through the wringer over the holidays. We just want to tell you to keep getting stronger day by day.” Said Randy and Mary Travis.
“When I saw that Randy had sent me a personal message. I just started bawling. His wife Mary, I remember saying ‘no step for the steppers’. That’s when I started getting up because you had to move.
CBS7 asked Ramos what he could tell people about COVID-19.
“Take precautionary measures, and keep yourself well,” said Ramos.
Sgt. Ramos shared with us that the first thing he ate out of the hospital was a hamburger. But he couldn’t taste it. He has since regained his taste and smell and has had his share of hamburgers.
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