LOUISVILLE, Ky, (WDRB) -- As the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to increase, the number of survivors and questions about the virus are also growing.
"I don't know how I caught it," said Doug Willis, of Louisville.
Willis said his symptoms started in late March. "Off and on, I just been like having a fever, just like sweats at night."
At first, Willis though his allergies were getting the best of him.
"One night, it just got worse, and my wife said, 'Hey, you need to go to the ER,'" Willis said.
At the hospital, his condition got progressively worse.
"Started developing a cough and, you know, uneasy to breathe," he said.
Willis tested positive for COVID-19, the illness that has affected more than 2,000 Kentuckians and killed more than 100.Â
From there, it was a fight for his life. Willis said.
Doug Willis.
"They asked me if I had a written will; that made me nervous," he said.
Willis said it was difficult to hear some of the news from the people treating him.
"They were talking about, 'There's a possibility we might put you on a ventilator' ... I was like, 'Hey, man, I walked in here, I want to walk out as well,'" he said.
Meanwhile, during a five-day hospital stay, Willis saw a lot of people, but no familiar faces.
He said, "They even had the National Guard sitting out there. My wife couldn't go in with me. It was just a big mess."
Willis talked to his wife via FaceTime. Once his fever broke, Willis went home with some instructions, but he still did not feel fine and was still unclear on how he caught the virus.
"They was saying that we still need to have you quarantine for about 14 more days from your wife," said Willis. "You know, I still have the coughing, a little bit."
Willis said he was not given much information about aftercare or the long-term health impacts of the virus.Â
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