COVID survivor speaks out

Tulsa businessman Vicente Ruiz is well known as being someone who helps others, but Ruiz recently found himself in need of help when he contracted COVID-19.

After struggling with the disease for weeks, Ruiz is speaking out to share his story so that others might learn from his experience.

After managing to avoid contracting the illness throughout most of the past year, one wrong encounter was all it took.

“I’d been on a construction site in Enid and I found out that some of the employees there had the coronavirus,” Ruiz explained.

Shortly thereafter, Ruiz began experience headaches, stomach pain, and general weakness, so he got tested. Sure enough, the electrician tested positive for COVID-19.

“But I didn’t feel all that bad, so I continued working, but making sure to wear a mask and stay away from others,” he said. “I thought, I’m healthy, I’m strong, I can handle this. That was a mistake.”

Ruiz quickly learned that continuing to exert himself helped the virus take over even more, and things soon took a dangerous turn.

“On the 26th in the morning when I woke up, I started feeling dizzy like I would faint,” Ruiz recalled. “That’s when I noticed that I needed help. So I went to St. Johns in Owasso and when I got there they put me on oxygen and told me I was a very sick man, that there wasn’t much they could do for me in that hospital, and there was no room for me elsewhere.”

For Ruiz, it was a sobering moment.

“I knew then I had to put my life in the hands of God,” he said. “I called my priest and asked him to hear my confession and for his blessings. I prayed to God, saying ‘I put my life in your hands. Do whatever you think is best.’”

But it seems God still has plans for Ruiz here on Earth, and the prayers of his friends and loved ones were answered. Now on the road to recovery, Ruiz has these words of advice for others:

“Don’t ever think that you are so strong and in such good shape that you will not get sick,” he said. “Protect yourself and protect others. It doesn’t take much to put on a mask and keep your distance. I was about to die, so I’m asking you to not put yourself and others at risk of going through the same thing I went through.” (La Semana)