JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man who spent more than five months in UF Health Jacksonville battling the effects of COVID-19 continues on his road to recovery.
Action News Jax first told you about Fabian Granado’s journey back in November when the virus had damaged his lungs so badly that they couldn’t hold up on their own.
Action News Jax reporter Kennedy Dendy was there on Feb. 1 when he was discharged from the UF Health Jacksonville.
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After battling COVID-19 for 164 days, 27-year-old Fabian Granado finally walked out of UF Health.
On Friday morning, she spoke with the now 28-year-old Fabian and his dad Rene once again.
“I’ve been a lot more active, walking and actually lifting a little weight,” Fabian said. “Day to day, I’m just trying to get through it. Breathing — that’s the hardest part.”
One step at a time and a lot of faith is how Fabian and Rene Granado say they’re navigating this unexpected journey.
“Miracles happen,” Rene said. “Give praise to God for those miracles.”
It’s been 73 days since they left the hospital, side by side, and returned to their hometown of Garland, Texas.
Fabian is from Texas, but was in Florida for commercial diving school.
Fabian told Action News Jax that in August 2021, he couldn’t stop coughing. His roommates were able to get him out of bed and to an ambulance as he began to suffer shortness of breath. His heart even stopped a couple times.
That’s how Fabian spent more than five months at UF Health Jacksonville battling the effects of COVID-19.
Fabian was not vaccinated against COVID-19, but says he wishes he had made that decision.
“It’s a long road,” Fabian said. “I thought I would be off oxygen right now. But I’m not.”
Fabian’s therapist comes to his Texas home three times a week, who helps keep a close eye on his oxygen levels.
Fabian said he hopes to see a pulmonologist at UF Health Jacksonville soon for some extra direction. He was on Florida Medicaid, but hasn’t been able to get on Texas Medicaid.
He said he is getting stronger and even rode his motorcycle once already — for about 10 minutes.
In February Fabian told Action News Jax reporter Kennedy Dendy that the first place he was going to go after getting back to Texas was to get some BBQ.
“Oh yeah, I got plenty of BBQ and I’m still getting more,” Fabian said on Friday.
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His father, Rene, has stood by his side the entire time and plans to return to work soon.
“I’m going to miss a lot this time together,” Rene said. “We’ve gone to some Bible studies. We’ve gone to church together, and that’s an important part of this entire journey. The most important part of this journey is our faith.”
Rene said his family’s prayers have been answered.
“The fact that he’s home, he’s alive and he has his own lungs — that alone is tremendous,” Rene said. “That was our wish. That was our dream.”
Rene encourages the community to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“We followed a lot of other people who are recovering from COVID,” Rene said. “It’s a long hard process from a terrible disease. Please protect yourself if you’re willing to do so.”
The Granados shared that they can’t thank the UF Health Jacksonville staff enough for their support even to this day, continuing to check in on Fabian and his journey to healing.
“We feel an obligation to return all the blessings that we were given,” Rene said.