Jimmy Chang, 46, Danville

As a nursing manager at Washington Hospital in Fremont, Jimmy Chang is someone who knows everyone on the floor where he works. So when one of his longtime coworkers came in to check on him during the first full day of his COVID19 hospitalization, and Chang didn’t recognize the nurse, alarm bells went off.

“She’s someone I’ve known for 10 years,” Chang says. “She knew immediately something was wrong. So they ran some tests and found out my oxygen levels were so severely low that it affected my neurological status.”

He checked into his hospital March 26 for what turned out to be a dramatic 10day fight, including several days on his stomach receiving highflow oxygen.

Jimmy Chang thought he’d be home in a day or two. Instead, his oxygen levels dropped, and he was quickly transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, where doctors recommended a “proning” treatment, placing Chang on his stomach with highflow oxygen, which helps decrease the patient’s work of breathing. If he didn’t respond, they might have to put him on a ventilator.

Although figures are still coming in, early numbers suggested most COVID19 patients who went on ventilators were not surviving.

“As I was able to digest the information, I realized, ‘Oh shoot, if I get intubated, I might not make it out,’ ” Chang said. He texted his wife: “I’m scared.” He made a slow recovery, spending 2½ days in the ICU. He was discharged April 5, and surprised everyone when he returned to work a couple of weeks later.

“It was very comforting, because I know all of the staff there,” Chang says. “I had a lot of people waving their hands through the windows, just offering support.”