Just one month ago, Jonathan Weltsch thought COVID-19 was only as severe as the run-of-the-mill flu. Believing the vaccine had not received adequate testing, Weltsch actively convinced people not to get vaccinated claiming “it would do more harm than good.”
Then he got sick.
When Jonathan and his family contracted COVID-19 earlier this month, they assumed their symptoms would pass in a few days. Slowly but surely, his wife and children got better but Jonathan’s condition only worsened.
“I was told my whole life not to take experimental drugs and I was 100% against an experimental vaccine,” he told the Times-Standard. “I was so strong-willed against it…Then I lost my breath and I wished I was vaccinated.”
Before contracting the virus, Jonathan’s wife Sarah Weltsch said they assumed the virus was only deadly to the elderly or immunocompromised.
“We thought that it would be just like the flu, we were the ones that would be just fine,” she said. “… This new COVID-19 variant is not a joke. It was terrifying not being able to breathe. Protect yourselves against this deadly virus.”
Sarah thinks her family caught the virus from family friends at the end of June but said they’ll never know for sure exactly where it came from. Suddenly, the entire Weltsch family fell ill.
“Our whole family, apart from our adult son who no longer lives at home, became sick. The disease hit fast and furious with everyone falling ill within hours of one another,” she said. “Everyone had a fever, headache, some had a dry cough and body aches, while others were plagued with nausea and diarrhea.”
On July 1, an at-home test kit confirmed it was COVID-19. Sarah said the family went to get an official test that same day. The tests were positive for the virus.
“After a few days, most of the children had seen the worst of their symptoms, the youngest recovering quickest, while the older children were sick a bit longer,” she said. “It hit the adults the hardest. On day four or five, shortness of breath set in and our oxygen levels began to fall.”
It was time to go to the hospital. Jonathan and Sarah checked into Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka on July 8.
“The first hospital visit was miserable. Laying on the floor of the emergency room for hours waiting to be seen was unbearable,” she said. “My symptoms were pretty intense but the hospital didn’t admit me, they just monitored me for a few hours. … Once taken back to be seen, a chest X-ray and a CT scan were done, oxygen was given, antibiotics were started and prescriptions were given to go home and recover with.”
Later that evening, Sarah said her husband’s oxygen levels dipped below 60 mmHg, which is considered dangerously low and indicates the need for supplemental oxygen.
“I convinced him to go into the hospital again. After barely hobbling in and another couple of hours waiting on the floor of the ER, he was taken in and admitted,” she said. “He was given strong antivirals and antibiotics to battle the virus but his oxygen levels kept dipping.”
The next day, the gravity of his illness became apparent.
“He was dying,” Sarah said.
“The day after he’d been admitted, he read an article about how many new COVID cases and deaths there had been. That day he had the episode where his oxygen saturation hit 38%,” she said. “… He told me that he thought to himself, ‘I’m just going to become a number. This is it.’ He thought he was going to die. That was the moment that this virus became so serious to him.”
Two days later, Jonathan was transferred to the ICU.
“Days went on and his oxygen needs continued to increase until he hit the top of what was available through the BiPAP mask he was given,” Sarah said. “The doctors and nurses met three times trying to decide whether to put him on a ventilator. He stayed the same for four more days, then he started to get better and needed less oxygen to keep his blood oxygen saturation up.”
With his 20th wedding anniversary and Sarah’s birthday coming up on July 28, Jonathan was motivated to get home as soon as possible.
“His spirits raised each time they lowered his oxygen,” she said. “Slowly but surely, 18 days after he was admitted, he was released from the hospital and brought home. He was able to be home for our anniversary and my birthday, the best gift I could’ve ever asked for came true!”
Jonathan is still very dependent on oxygen and unable to do most daily activities on his own, but the Weltsch family is hopeful he will make a full recovery.
“He needs a lot of help and is going to continue to need help for quite a while. With nine children ranging in ages two months to 18 years, there are a lot of demands on both of us as parents and with Jonathan down a lot of those needs are being put on me,” she said. “It’s not going to be easy by any means but it will be worth it. He’s so precious to our family and we are so thankful that he is alive and home with us.”
Jonathan has since taken it upon himself to convince others to get vaccinated.
“I’ve already convinced four, I’m pestering more,” he said. “I’m excited for the day I can get my vaccine.”
Jonathan’s mother, Amanda Devons, said she was brought to tears by her son’s change of heart.
“I was extremely worried about him knowing how severe coronavirus is. I didn’t have much hope in him changing his mind,” Devons said. “He really almost didn’t make it, he almost died.”
Those interested in getting vaccinated should contact their primary care physician or sign up online at MyTurn.ca.gov. For more information on COVID-19, call 707-441-5000.
