Florida man regrets waiting to get vaccine after COVID-19 destroys both his lungs

A Florida man regrets his decision to put off getting vaccinated against the coronavirus after an infection ravaged his respiratory system.

Blake Bargatze was the only one in his family who wasn't vaccinated, and he became infected with COVID-19 in April while in Florida, and the 24-year-old needed a double lung transplant and has spent months in intensive care in hospitals across three states, reported WSB-TV.

"I just don't ever want anybody else to go through this," said his mother, Cheryl Nuclo, who said her son vaped regularly but was otherwise healthy before his infection. "No diabetes, no hypertension -- just a 24-year-old kid."

The Gwinnett County, Georgia, native is receiving treatment at a Maryland hospital after receiving his transplant in Atlanta, and Bargatze -- like virtually all coronavirus patients in recent months -- was hesitant to get the vaccine.

"He wanted to wait a few years to see you know, if there's any side effects or anything from it," said his stepfather Paul Nuclo. "As soon as he got in the hospital, though, he said he wished he had gotten the vaccine."

His family said Bargatze likely became infected at an indoor concert.

"He had called me that Friday when he got the results," his mother said, "and he's like, "Mom, you're going to be mad. I got COVID.'"

Bargatze posted on Facebook this week that all of his chest tubes had been removed and he's able to breathe at least six hours without a ventilator, and he's hoping to build up enough lung strength to go all day without help and be released from the hospital.

"Once I can hit a full 24 hours, I can leave the ICU and start working on talking/eating/drinking again," Bargatze wrote. "My ultimate goal is to be able to walk again before my birthday in August."

His mother hopes her son's experience will encourage others to get the vaccines.

"Maybe if some people were kind of on the fence and swaying, he wants them to see what might be the extreme of what can happen," she said. "Not using a fear tactic, but it can happen."