SAN ANTONIO (KDVR) — It has been 180 days since Andrew Capen was admitted to a Texas hospital, but his fight is just beginning.
The 33-year-old from Northglenn says he was traveling from Denver to Corpus Christi in July when he contracted COVID-19.
At first, Capen says he wasn’t terribly worried.
“When they told me I had pneumonia, and the doctor’s face kind of soured, that’s when I started worrying,” he says.
He has since lost function of both of his lungs, and doctors say he’ll need a double lung transplant to survive.
Capen’s family says he was uninsured when he got sick, so he’s at the mercy of being transferred to a transplant hospital.
“There’s nothing we can do. You just sit in a bed and wait to die,” he says. “And that’s just the worst thought.”
Capen is hoping his story convinces others to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
“There’s a chance that anyone can get a bad result. I’m not the only person my age that’s even here,” he says. “You need to protect your community and your people.”
His mother Brenda says he’s been accepted into a Houston hospital, but hasn’t been transferred yet.
“Because there’s been an uptick in COVID cases in Houston, they don’t have a bed for him, so he can’t transfer there until they have a bed,” she says. “So we’re hoping for this weekend, we just need to be ready to go as soon as they say the word.”
If Andrew receives the transplant, he’s been told he’ll have to stay in Texas for another year for monitoring.
His family has set up an account to help pay for expenses. If you’d like to donate, you can do so online.