‘I thought I had a bad cold’: Merritt man still recovering from 42-day COVID coma

LOWER NICOLA, B.C. – Frank Garcia is improving little by little after a battle with COVID-19 left him weak and fatigued.

The 66-year-old from Lower Nicola started feeling sick in March.

“I was coughing and coughing and trying to catch my breath. It wasn’t a very good situation that I was in,” he said.

As the illness progressed, he was taken to hospital in Merritt.

“The doctors were really concerned what happened to me,” Frank said. “They probably knew what was really happening to me, but I didn’t. I thought I had a bad cold.”

Frank was intubated that night and rushed to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. He would not wake up again for 42 days.

Frank was initially diagnosed with pneumonia, but his test results later confirmed he had COVID-19.

“At times I was worried that something had happened to my dad,” said Mindy Garcia, Frank’s youngest daughter. “We didn’t know. Some days we went the whole day without having contact with the nurse at the hospital because they’re so busy with COVID and the pandemic.”

When Frank woke up in May, he learned how much time had passed and just how sick he was.

“I had a hose up my nose and a feeding tube,” Frank said. “I was wondering why am I in here like this? And they told me I had the COVID and pneumonia.”

Frank spent an additional 25 days in hospital undergoing physiotherapy to get his strength and coordination back.

“Feeling like he was actually going to pull through was exciting because for a while there it was very dismal,” said Frank’s oldest daughter, Angela. “It was hard for all of us. I think that him coming through was a miracle, I really do.”

Just prior to his sickness, Frank’s daughter Marcy announced her pregnancy to the family. In July, she went into labour eight weeks early, which she attributes to the stress of her family’s situation.

“From the beginning of my pregnancy until the end of my pregnancy, even the delivery was stressful,” Marcy said. “My dad getting sick, in the hospital, worrying about my dad, worrying about my mom.”

Marcy’s newborn son Chase was kept in the neonatal intensive care unit for four weeks.

“They took great care of him and showed me a lot, he’s my first baby, so they took great care of us both.” With the whole family back together and feeling healthy, the Garcias have a new appreciation for life.

“We’ve always been a close family, but now we’re even closer,” Mindy said. “We’re there for each other.”

“It’s a lot different now,” Marcy said. “Now that COVID hit our family. It’s hard to explain. It just changes you.”

The Garcia family’s story is being highlighted by the RIH Foundation as they promote their annual holiday campaign.

Every year, the RIH Foundation raises money for essential equipment at the hospital. With the COVID-19 pandemic requiring additional resources, more ventilators are on the wish list.

“Mr. Garcia, Frank, was on a ventilator for some of the time that he was here and so we’re looking for more ventilators and we’re looking for more equipment from the ER to the OR because, of course, COVID is here,” said RIH Foundation CEO Heidi Coleman, “but every department of the hospital is working very hard.”

Coleman says the campaign usually raises more than $100,000 for the hospital. She encourages people to give what they can.

“We’ve sent out a mailing and there are letters that should be arriving in your home, but you can always call the foundation, come by, go to our website, give me a call – I love speaking to people.”