For some who get COVID-19, their battle continues far after the initial illness. These individuals are commonly referred to as COVID ‘long-haulers,’ and 59-year-old Jim Vautier is one of them. 

A Dangerous Assumption

Jim has been fighting his way back to normal since getting COVID-19 in July. He played soccer for the Navy in college, loved mountain biking, and remained active over the years. Before getting sick, Jim still regularly worked out, though the gym and the grocery store were the only destinations he ventured out of the house for since the pandemic began.

He had no underlying health conditions, took no medications, and since they were being careful, Jim and his wife Becky had chosen not to get vaccinated. When the illness hit, “It just crushed me,” he said. “You think they’ll give you some antibiotics, and then you’ll just be better.” 

A Near-Death Experience

Within days of getting COVID-19, Jim was admitted to the ICU at his local hospital, Harris Regional. Medical staff treated him as best they could, gave him plasma, and tried to keep him comfortable. After two weeks, they intubated him. 

After another couple of weeks in ICU, Jim was discharged to Mission’s Asheville Specialty Hospital, a long-term acute care hospital. “When Jim first arrived, he had very little muscle tone,” said Greg Hunt, Jim’s respiratory therapist at the specialty hospital. “He was unable to breathe on his own.” 

Jim made some progress at Asheville, but it was followed by disappointments. By mid-September, his health had taken a serious downturn that sent him back to the ICU. “It really was devastating because we all had been rooting for him to get better,” said Sarah Williams, one of Jim’s nurses. Becky arrived as Jim was being loaded into the ambulance. “Everything was failing,” she recalled. “He had said ‘I’m done,’ eyes rolling up in his head, and he was gone.”

His Story Isn’t Over

Jim was apparently still fighting, however. He pulled through and has had to relearn how to eat and perform other basic functions that most people his age take for granted. He was eventually able to return to the Asheville Specialty Hospital, and on October 22, more than three months after being diagnosed with COVID, he took his first steps. “Getting up and walking is a pretty big deal,” he said, “because then you’re like, ‘OK, I can do this.’” 

According to Hunt, Jim’s months-long fight is far from an isolated case. He has seen many;  some successful, some not. Jim knows he is lucky, and he is grateful for his ongoing albeit slow recovery. Having gained a painful understanding of its benefits, he and Becky now plan on getting the COVID-19 vaccine. 

For the time being, Jim’s goal is to go home, see his dogs and family, and be able to sit on his porch, and for the first time in months, he feels hopeful about the future. “The light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, “it’s getting brighter now; it’s getting closer.”

*Penter, C. (2021, Oct. 26). ‘Had to learn again:’ After 3 months, COVID long hauler in NC fights to get back to normal. ABC13 News. https://wlos.com/news/local/hes-had-to-learn-again-after-3-months-covid-long-hauler-fights-to-get-back-to-normal  

Much about the novel coronavirus, i.e., COVID-19, is still not fully understood. As research progresses and our knowledge of the virus increases, information can change rapidly. We strive to update all of our articles as quickly as possible, but there may occasionally be some lag between scientific developments and our revisions.