State Rep. Latvala recalls darkest times with virus
The doctor studied an X-ray of Chris Latvala’s lungs and quizzically turned to his patient.
“How long have you smoker?”
Latvala does not smoke. He had COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Latvala, R- Palm Harbor, arrived at Largo Medical Center on Aug. 29. By then, the infection had turned his lungs against him, and a two-week internalwarwas underway. His whole body ached. He lost his sense of smell. He couldn’t eat. His chest felt like a truck was sitting on it. His oxygen levels plummeted. It was, he wrote on Facebook on Sept. 4 from his hospital room, “the hardest thing I have ever faced inmy life.”
Latvala left the hospital nine days later but remained quarantined at home for the rest of the month. It wasn’t until last week that Latvala ventured out in public again, a freedom he regained just as the biggest news of the 2020 presidential campaign broke.
On Friday, President Donald Trump announced he tested positive for the coronavirus. He has since received treatment from a team of doctors at Walter Reed Medical Center inMaryland.
In aSaturday interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Latvala recalled the early stages of his battle.
A doctor promised the hospital been a would provide the best treatment it could, but asked Latvala for one promise.
“What’s that?” Latvala responded.
“You have to promise if you get worse, you’re not going to give up.”
For him, the hardest moments camewaiting for whatwas next.
“The doctor tells youDay13 and Day 14 are theworst,” Latvala said. “And you’re counting down to those days and you’re wondering, ‘What doesworse feel like?’”=
Outside Walter Reed on Saturday, Trump’s physician, Dr. James Conley, told reporters that the president was in the third day of his diagnosis and that Days 7 through10 “are the most critical.”
Trump already had symptoms that Latvala did not experience early in his battle with the virus, such as fatigue and congestion. Trump reportedly received oxygen at the White House on Friday before he was taken by helicopter to the hospital, something Latvala didn’t need until later in his hospital stay.
Trump is being treated intravenously with remdesivir, an antiviral medication that has produced promising results. Fromhis own experience with the drug, Latvala said he knows that it requires at least five days of hospitalization while it’s administered.
At age 74, Trump belongs to a higher-risk population than Latvala, who is 38. Like Trump, Latvala is heavyset but otherwise didn’t have any other known health problems. Trump is reportedlyworking while he is under the watch of physicians and has met with Meadows several times throughout theweekend.
Latvala’s only visitors were nurses and doctors; family and friends were not allowed. Latvala instead enjoyed one of Trump’s favorite past-times: television.
“But you can’t watch anything funny because it hurts tolaughand you don’t want to watch the news because it’s all aboutCOVID,” Latvala said. “So Iwouldwatch sports or true crime shows.”
Latvala is largely recovered, though he nowgets fatigued in the evenings.
Latvala said he let his guard downone night in mid-August. He planned a dinner with some friends. They drove together. His removed his mask while they ate. A few days later, he found out one of his companions had the coronavirus.
Latvala said he hopes the experience will make him a less aggressive partisan. He said he has a greater appreciation for faith and family. He thinks Trump will emerge from this changed, although he acknowledged that would be a pretty unlikely character shift for the president.
“When you’re laying in a hospital bed, you have a chance to do a lotof thinking, andyouthink about your ownmortality and what’s important in life,” Latvala said.