Three months after being on a ventilator due to COVID-19, Jason Joros says he’s ready to go back to work as a registered nurse.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 very scared about it. I want to help as much as I can,鈥� the 国产主播-Los Angeles聽nursing graduate . 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I became a nurse.鈥�

Joros, an RN at MemorialCare Orange Coast, and his wife Cristina, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Garden Grove Hospital, both fell ill due to the coronavirus, but Jason was hit the hardest.

Once admitted to the hospital, Jason said his condition steadily declined and he had to be intubated.

“I only had a chance to tell the nurses wheeling me down to the ICU that 鈥楶lease tell my wife that I love her,'” he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 feeling a lot better now. They threw the kitchen sink at me in terms of treatments.”

Besides almost dying, Joros’ lip became painfully swollen due to an experimental drug reaction, his hair fell out from the stress of the event, and he needed speech therapy after being placed聽on a ventilator.

But since regaining his voice, the 31-year-old has been and trying to impress upon people the seriousness of the pandemic.

“We both feel that the message hasn鈥檛 been received by a lot of people. You can get COVID-19 from someone who doesn鈥檛 look sick and you can give it to someone even if you don鈥檛 feel sick. It doesn鈥檛 matter how old you are and it can still be really bad even if you are healthy,” he said.

Cristina said their family will always be grateful to the hospital staff where Jason was admitted 鈥� many of whom Jason knew as friends from previously working there. And she urged others to wear face coverings and take steps necessary to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 going to happen to you or your loved one and when it does, it could be too late. You don鈥檛 know what you have until you鈥檙e about to lose it,鈥� Cristina said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unreasonable to me after seeing what Jason went through, to see people (not wearing masks) and putting other people鈥檚 lives at risk.鈥�

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