Twenty-six pounds lighter than when he contracted the illness and weakened by the pneumonia in his lungs, 39-year-old Laurence Derasmo sat in a wheelchair July 9 as a nurse rolled him toward his husband.
It was the scenario Derasmo, a Las Vegas-area elementary school principal, had envisioned as he fought for his life against COVID-19.
The couple were so unsure they would see each other again that they had conversations about end-of-life arrangements. But for now, after a “big, giant hug,” they were headed home, feeling that the worst had passed.
Derasmo’s horror began with a bout with nausea and fever on June 24 when he woke up in the middle of the night to vomit. He figured he had food-borne illness. The next day, he landed in a Quick Care clinic after his fever spiked at 103 degrees.
The doctor swabbed him to test for the coronavirus and sent him home. Soon after, results came back positive for COVID-19.
His husband, Michael Reinarz, tested immediately after, and found out both were sick. However, his symptoms were minor — he just lost his sense of taste and smell, had a little bit of a headache and was slightly fatigued.
Treating his symptoms at home for the next nine days, Derasmo’s condition worsened, and the constant high fever and nausea became accompanied by chills, aches and a state of confusion in which he was “in and out of reality,” he said. “I couldn’t tell what was going on, because I was so sick.”
On the 10th day, the constant and high fever finally broke. But the “COVID cough” and tight chest that weakened his entire body followed. His oxygen levels were low and his breathing was labored.
“That’s when I turned to my husband and said, ‘You need to call me an ambulance or rush me to the hospital, because I can’t get this under control anymore,’ ” Derasmo said.
Reinarz dropped him off at the emergency room July 4. They embraced, not knowing if that was their last goodbye, because visitations weren’t allowed and the coronavirus can be fickle and volatile.
Derasmo began journaling his condition from the onset of the serious symptoms, sharing updates on Facebook.
Two days into hospitalization, from a bed and with oxygen tubes inserted into his nostrils, Derasmo coughed a little and struggled to breathe while he broadcast a live video to his social media account.
Doctors, who had been “pumping” his body with steroids, antibiotics and blood thinners, were trying to remove liquid from his lungs. But they also were concerned with his oxygen levels, notifying him that “a higher level of care” might be needed, he said.
“I’m scared; I’m very scared,” he confessed in the live video. “I’m alone; I’m not allowed to have anybody here. It’s just really tough.”
Increasingly emotional, he continued, “It’s just really tough, you know, being 39 years old and I can’t breathe. You don’t want this. Just stay home.”
Within a few days, the post had amassed around 100,000 views and 800 shares.
His reason for sharing his struggles on social media was simple: to raise awareness.
“I really felt like there was a narrative out in public — in society — that things were OK, (that) you could go and not wear a mask and you’re not going to get sick.
“It’s nothing like the flu,” as some coronavirus deniers have contended, he said. “It’s the flu times one thousand.”
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Derasmo doesn’t know how he and his husband became infected with the virus. They had stayed home, wore masks, socially distanced, and yet there they were. “We did everything we were supposed to do,” Derasmo said.
A possible explanation for how the deadly virus entered the couple’s home might lie with his husband’s career as a law enforcement officer.
It’s also unclear why their symptoms differed dramatically, but it could be attributed to Derasmo having type 2 diabetes or asthma, which he picked up as a child. Otherwise, he said, he’s a fairly young and healthy man.
While those questions might forever go unanswered, what the couple does know is that they’re fortunate to have seemingly survived the disease that’s killed more than half a million people around the globe since the pandemic broke out in December. At the time Derasmo left the hospital, the virus had claimed nearly 500 lives in Nevada, most of whom perished in Clark County since mid-March, when COVID-19 was first detected in the state.
Since his discharge, more than 125 people have died in the state from the disease.
Derasmo was still infected with the coronavirus the day he left the hospital — and in fact remained positive more than a week later — but doctors are confident he can recover while continuing his treatment at home.
“Every day I would wake up and wonder what kind of battle am I gonna have to fight today?” he said. “Being isolated and alone, it’s not only that I’m fighting physically for my body and my lungs. You’re also fighting the mental part of it, being stuck with your thoughts, and all the what-ifs.”
He most wanted to go back to his happily married and career-loving life.
But doubt crept in. One day, he said, “You’re just going through life and everything is great. You’re making plans … for the future.”
The next day, “you wake up and all of sudden that comes to a stop, because now you’re potentially going to die if you do not get better from this disease. So, the fear that it brings to a generally healthy 39-year-old who has so many plans for the future ... the fear is beyond anything I could express.”
The evening he was discharged, he posted a photo on Facebook that showed him sitting on a couch at home. He still had oxygen tubes, but now he was smiling and flashing his thumbs up.
“I made it! I’m home!” the caption read, three red heart emojis next to it.