David Braun

In March 2016 I was diagnosed with CLL and every year I have to have my blood test as I am still in the watch & wait but have a compromised immune system....I continued working full time and worked as a contractor for a pharmaceutical company... With COVID I became more protective of my health by distancing myself from large gatherings including avoiding public spaces ...so in January 2022 after having a holiday break I went back to work but feeling as if I was coming down with a bad cold it was only getting worse and by 2 weeks into the new year when I came home from work I could barely get myself into my truck I changed into more comfortable clothes and sat in my recliner with barley any energy...my wife recommended I sleep in the recliner instead of laying flat in bed....so Monday came along and I was unaware of what day it was ....my wife came into the room to check on me and said we need to call an ambulance as I was as grey as grey can be and very lathergic.....so when fire and medics arrived I was taken by ambulance to ER ....I recall a doctor standing over me asking if I had ever been teached intubated or ventilated and do I have any last rites....from that point I don't recall much but would spend 2 weeks in ICU I recall a priest anointing me with oil to my forehead and hands giving me my last rites ... During those 2 weeks in ICU I had chest X-rays while on a ventilator my sugar levels ran extremely high....I had internal bleeding high blood pressure heart palpitations anxiety attacks just to name a few.....so in all I spent a 5-6 weeks slowly recovering and unable to walk...then the following weeks I would spend at two rehabilitation center working on my strength and learning to walk once again and when I came home I continued my rehab...by May 2022 I spent all my short term disability and PTO only to voluntary quit my job of 22 years....my company was good to me to let me apply for unemployment benefits and willing to rehire me when I felt I was able to come back ....I continued following up and seeking employment only knowing there was no way of being hired I contacted a lawyer to apply for disability and by the grace of God I was awarded disability in December 2022...lots of doctors appointments but none had even acknowledged my COVID .....we had to sell our home as I could no longer maintain it ...forward to present day I'm considered a long hauler I'm now 62 but have never felt the same since....prior to COVID I was a avid fisherman and enjoyed the outdoors so much but my body doesn't allow the activities I once enjoyed ...I used a cane or rollator I experience A-fib shortness of breath depression and other issues....I was once told by a nurse I'm lucky to be alive....I think it's more of being stubborn as living with CLL is nothing like experiencing the damage of COVID.....David Braun