It's been a difficult year for one South Bay grandmother who fought COVID-19 and continues to battle the many lingering effects. Susie Becerra says doctors didn't think she'd make it out alive.
"They had told my son and my daughter I was not going to make it at all," said Becerra.
After months hospitalized, following rehab and now at-home recovery, Becerra considers herself a miracle.
The 60-year-old grandmother was hospitalized in late January following her diagnosis with COVID-19. Her time inside the hospital was challenging, she was on an oxygen mask, then put on a ventilator and suffered a coma.
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"I was gone for four months and that's a life that just took everything, COVID took everything from me," said Becerra.
The South Bay grandmother credits her faith for saving her after four months she was sent to rehab and later began her recovery at home.
"I had to learn how to walk, I had to learn how to talk, I had to learn how to write," said Becerra.
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Becerra admits it has not been easy and wishes the vaccine had been available for her. She contracted COVID-19 almost two months before she was eligible for her shot.
"I didn't think I was ever going to get to here, to this point, but I'm here now," she said.
Becerra's stunning recovery has allowed her to heal from her tracheotomy and regain her voice, she also went from using a wheelchair, to a walker, to now using a cane. But, she shares how the journey was hard and wants to encourage others to get the vaccine.
"COVID takes everything from you and I need people to understand that message, to please, please get vaccinated," she said.
For now, surrounded by her family the grandmother says this is a moment she often wondered if she'd ever return to.
"You don't know if you're going to make it back to your home, to your family and I'm here now so I'm so glad to God," she said.
