LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada's first COVID-19 patient reflects on a difficult time as Thursday marks the official end of the public health emergency.
April 2020 is a time that veteran Ronald Pipkins will never forget.
What started off as what he thought was a cold, it actually led to a coma for nearly three and a half weeks.
"The chief of staff from the hospital came up to me and asked, 'do you know why you are here?'" he said. "I said, 'no, I don't,' he said, 'you have COVID-19'."
It was then, while being treated at the VA Medical Center in North Las Vegas, Pipkins learned he was the first person in Nevada to be diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The former Marine Corps private says he nearly lost his life to the virus and remembers his body beginning to fail as COVID-19 took over.
He says doctors put him into a medically induced coma to help his body battle the virus.
When he woke up, he says it was like he had to start his life over again, having to relearn how to talk, how to walk and deal with memory loss. More than three years later while Pipkins is doing better, he's still dealing with the effects of long-term COVID.
"I feel blessed to stand, to walk, but it seems like all the problems I had before COVID were doubled."
On Thursday, the World Health Organization claimed COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency.
While it was a welcome announcement for many around the world including residents in the valley, it sounded an alarm for the COVID-19 survivor.
"The virus is still out there, it may not be talked about people are still going to the emergency room," he said
The Southern Nevada Health District also addressed the end of the public health emergency.
Dr. Leguen with the health district says although this declaration was made, they will not let their guard down.
"It doesn't mean that this is the end of our commitment to provide services to protect this community from a COVID-19 infection," he said.
The health district says free testing, vaccines, and COVID-19 treatment will be provided until the federal supply lasts.
Pipkins says after nearly dying as a result of the coronavirus, preventative measures cannot stop anytime soon.
"We lost a lot of people," he said. "And they are not coming back. We have to be mindful of that in the future."
