Utah Lawmaker Learns To Walk, Talk Again After Intense Battle With COVID-19
Mar 24, 2021, 11:03 PM | Updated: 11:03 pm
PLEASANT GROVE, Utah – After nearly two months in the hospital, Rep. Jon Hawkins, R-Pleasant Grove, is back home. He contracted COVID-19 in January and after a week of dealing with cold-like symptoms at home, his health took a turn for the worse.
“At first it was sore throat, coughing that type of stuff, but then I had a hard time breathing,” he said.
Hawkins was rushed to the ICU with concerning blood oxygen levels. Three days into his stay, his condition drastically declined.
“They said if you don’t go on a ventilator you were going to die,” he said. “So I had no choice. That was the last thing I remembered for four weeks.”
His wife said for nine grueling weeks his situation was touch and go.
“To watch everything unfold over FaceTime was pretty traumatic,” Mary Hawkins said. “I thought how many times I would’ve said or done things differently if I would’ve known that this was going to be his prognosis.”
After nearly two months in the hospital battling COVID, Rep. Hawkins is back home! He had to re-learn how to walk, talk, and eat.
Tonight at 10:00, he speaks exclusively about his intense battle and the message he has for Utahns as we near the end of the pandemic @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/F4IwmohMiN— Ashley Moser (@AshleyMoser) March 25, 2021
Jon Hawkins spent a month on a ventilator and was eventually moved to a long-term acute care facility.
“I had to learn how to swallow, I had to learn how to talk, I had to learn how to walk, I had to learn how to breathe,” he said.
On March 17, he was able to come home. He hopes his story will encourage others to finish strong as we near the end of the pandemic.
“Get the vaccine,” he said. “Maintain the protocols that have been put in place because they are there to protect us all.”