Granddad who dismissed Covid as a ‘political thing’ shares regrets after virus nearly killed him twice
A grandfather who dismissed Covid as ‘a political thing’ has shared his regrets after the disease nearly killed him twice. Bob Ratley Jr, 52, flatlined on two occasions after falling ill with coronavirus in October, despite initially dismissing the seriousness of the condition.
Ratley, from Hutchinson in Kansas said: ‘I was one of those that thought it was a political thing, and then I thought well it’s just a common cold thing. Until it hit me. I ended up dying here at the Hutch hospital and they revived me and then in Wichita the same thing. I coded and they revived me there, too.’
Ratley, a popular local bingo caller and grandfather, spent the last two months in hospital, and was hooked up to a ventilator for much of that time. He was so sick for those months that his memories are just blurs, and has been left with a hole in his throat following a tracheostomy to insert a breathing tube.
Ratley now faces a long recovery, and is re-learning basic functions such as how to walk and talk at a rehab facility.
The granddad told KSNW: ‘I didn’t realize how bad off I was, and I think what brought me back is I hadn’t seen my wife, my grandkids or my other kids, and I was thinking about them.
‘The walking, talking, I get short breath, just everyday living things that you take for granted.’
Ratley was scheduled to return home last week after regaining his strength, and having a tracheostomy cover fitted by hospital staff.
Locals in Hutchinson say Ratley organized birthday drive-thru parties for residents during the spring lockdown, and have now set up a fundraiser to help with his recovery.
Coronavirus is so-far confirmed to have infected 16.5 million Americans, with the death toll passing 300,000 on Monday.
The first shots of Pfizer’s vaccine to prevent Covid were administered the same day, although health officials warn most of the general population will not receive the shot until well into 2021.
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