JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For 107 days, 27-year-old Fabian Granado has been battling COVID-19 at UF Health. The virus damaged his lungs so badly that right now they can’t hold up on their own.
Family says he’s been fighting for his life.
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“Three months ago, I didn’t know if he was going to live day-to-day,” Rene Granado said. “There were several nights when I would go home at the end of visitation not knowing if I was going to receive the phone call in the middle of the night.”
Fabian is from Texas, but in Jacksonville working to become an underwater welder. His father, Rene Granado says Fabian is extremely healthy but was hit by the delta surge in August and was not vaccinated.
“I strongly urged Fabian to get his vaccine. I said, ‘You need to get it’ and he didn’t,” Granado said. “Unfortunately, we are in this position.”
Now three and half months later, Rene says Fabian is making progress after he was placed on a ventilator and ECMO machine in the ICU. He managed to stand up for the first time this month, with his father by his side every step of the way.
“I have not gone home and I have no intentions of going home until he goes home with me,” Granado said.
Fabian’s mother, Melissa Granado said none of this has been easy.
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“There’s a lot of times I can’t really sleep at night,” she said.
The next step is hoping Fabian’s lungs heal on their own. If not, Rene says they’ll be waiting to see if he is accepted into a lung transplant program. Until that information comes, Rene says the prayers are working.
“This is the most grateful Thanksgiving Day I’ve ever had because my son is still alive and he’s still with us,” Granado said.
The Granado’s say Fabian is the type of guy who will help you out no matter what situation you’re in. Fabian has been able to now drink liquids and work towards soft foods. His parents say miracles can happen and are asking for the prayers to continue. They thank everybody for the help so far.
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