Georgia's rural Trump-supporting turf drags down state's COVID vaccination rank

When Grantville Councilman Jim Sells started feeling sick this summer, he tried to tough it out.

He described himself as a hardcore conservative and a skeptic of masks, vaccines and other COVID-19 precautions. He tried some home remedies he read about online, but nothing helped, so he checked himself into the hospital, not knowing just how close he was to death.

“I’m trying to say as they’re taking off my clothes, ‘What are we doing here?’ And they said, ‘You’re admitted. You’re not leaving.’ And then the doctor comes over and says, ‘You’re in really bad shape. I don’t know if we can help you. Do you want us to resuscitate you?’ And now I’m in shock. I went in there because I’m just not feeling well, and she’s telling me I’m in real bad shape,” he said.

During the first 18 hours of what would become a 16-day hospital stay, Sells and his doctors did not know whether he would live or die. Luckily, he responded well to his treatment. He’s back home and feeling better every day, he said, and now he’s on a mission to persuade other conservatives that COVID-19 is real, dangerous and preventable.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my friends pounding heaven and the doctors and nurses at Fayette Piedmont,” he said. “Every day is an extra day for me. I want people to know we can save some lives here and save some hospital stays, if we can educate them on how COVID kills you, and how you can tell your lungs are going bad for $10 to $30 with an oximeter.

Read more: https://georgiarecorder.com/2021/09/09/georgias-rural-trump-supporting-turf-drags-down-states-covid-vaccination-rank/