In early January 2022, Joe and Megan Hermosillo, parents of six young children in Frederick, Maryland, faced the kind of health crisis every family fears. It started with a cough. After they both had seemingly recovered from what appeared to be a mild case of COVID-19, Joe began coughing again, feeling increasingly fatigued and found that his blood oxygen level tested low on an oximeter they keep at their home.
He called a doctor, who told him to go to the emergency room to be checked with more accurate equipment. A reading of 95-100% is considered a healthy blood oxygen level; at the hospital, Joe’s blood oxygen level came back at an alarming 65%.
“They threw me in the ER,” Joe said. “They stripped me down, they hooked me up, and I must have had 10 staff members around me. I told them my wife was in the lobby and she could make all the decisions, and then I passed out.”