Recovering COVID-19 patient says he regrets not getting vaccinated

A recovering COVID-19 patient is urging Windsor-Essex residents to learn from his mistake and get a COVID-19 vaccine after he suffered in hospital with the virus. 

Dan Davis, 41, from Amherstburg, Ont., was recently released from Erie Shores HealthCare hospital in Leamington after nine days of being treated.

"This was definitely the sickest I have ever been with this COVID [19] and I would encourage anyone that's on the fence about getting vaccinated to do it, because it can come on strong and it comes on fast," Davis said. 

On Aug. 28, Davis was taken to hospital by an ambulance after experiencing severe cramps and body aches. He was tested for COVID-19 and diagnosed with the delta variant.

Prior to being admitted, Davis lost his sense of smell and suffered from stomach and body cramps.

On Aug. 24 he went to Windsor Regional Hospital where he was diagnosed with diverticulitis, an infection in the digestive track.

He said he was sent home without being tested for COVID-19. 

Over the next few days, his symptoms became more severe and he was shortly taken to hospital where he was admitted. 

Davis did not receive a COVID-19 vaccine but his wife had. 

"I was hesitant to get vaccinated with it being a new vaccine and I just thought, I'm young, I'm healthy. If I get this, I'm going to fight it off fine," Davis said. 

Both his wife and his two children were diagnosed with the virus as well but their symptoms were mild. 

"It's a scary thought," says a recovering COVID-19 patient

3 years ago

Duration 3:58

Dan Davis regrets his decision to refuse a COVID-19 vaccine after experiencing nine days of hospitalization caused by the Delta variant.

During his hospitalization, Davis said he was unable to eat or drink for approximately five days and he was put on oxygen. 

"If I tried to get out of bed, I got so short of breath, I would start hyper-ventilating. Even on oxygen, at my worst I would take 35 to 40 minutes to get my breathing back under control," Davis said. 

Davis is currently recovering at home. He is not sure where he contracted the virus. 

He said that while he does not know everything about the COVID-19 vaccines, he does encourage it for a variety of reasons. 

"I do know that COVID [19] can hit you hard no matter how old or how healthy your life situation. I don't want anybody to go through what I went through," he said. 

Davis has to wait another 30 days before he can roll up his sleeve and get vaccinated.