Last March, Titou Phommachanh was battling against COVID-19 in the ICU. His wife, Amanda, was fighting to get him diagnosed and treated, as cases were just starting to surface in the region.
The couple called 2020 their hardest year, and touched on their hopes for the future.
"It was a year ago tonight that [News4's Darcy Spencer] and I spoke, and that was my first kind of, plea, I guess," Amanda Phommachanh said.
Now, Titou Phommachanh said he’s grateful for the support and medical care he's received after spending 16 days on a ventilator.
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"It really takes a circle of friends and a village to sort of move mountains, because I think that's what they really did, because I might not have been here," he said. "The best way I can explain it is waking up in the movie 'Outbreak.'"
Titou Phommachanh said he has some tingling in his fingers at times, but is otherwise feeling good.
"To me, that's part of what's so scary about the virus. You don't know who it's going to take down," Amanda Phommachanh said. "There's no rhyme or reason to it."
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Since the virus, the father of three was furloughed from his position at a hotel in D.C., so he’s taken on a stay-at-home dad role.
"So I was glad, you know, that I was able to be at least one good story and give some people hope that this is not a death sentence," he said. "It's a tough fight."
Since then, the pair have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and look forward to life beyond the pandemic.
