SAN ANTONIO – Brandon and Amy Nation are still newlyweds. They happily finish each other’s sentences and have pictures of their blended family proudly displayed on the walls of their Boerne home.
“September 28th, 2019,” the couple said together.
“Yes, it was a good day,” Amy said.
Their vows still holding true -- love one another everyday, in sickness and in health.
“God definitely brought us together for many things yet to be revealed at the time,” Amy said with a laugh to herself.
It didn’t take long. As Texas froze last February, Brandon started to feel sick.
Brandon Nation was a healthy man in his 40’s with no underlying conditions. Last February he was diagnosed with COVID. He spent 204 days in the hospital, 137 days on ECMO. A double lung transplant later, and he’s home in Boerne able to tell his story of survival. @ksatnews pic.twitter.com/f9dZwVOcAN
— Leigh Waldman (@LeighWaldman) January 31, 2022
A test revealed what they thought, he had COVID-19.
The Nations quarantined at home, not thinking the worst because Brandon was in his 40′s with no underlying health conditions.
”The fourth night after we found out that I was positive, I got up to use the restroom in the middle of the night and passed out,” Brandon said, recalling the night he found himself on the cold floor.
Amy grabbed their at-home oxygen monitor she had recently purchased and found his levels were low.
They decided to take Brandon to the ER in Boerne before doctors there recommended he go to San Antonio and be admitted to Methodist Hospital.
There, he kept getting worse.
Brandon was put on ECMO, a form of life support to help his lungs.
“I always believed I was gonna come, come through and get back home. Low and behold, I did die a couple of times,” Brandon said.
The longest was in May 2021. Doctors fought to revive Brandon for nine minutes and were unsure of the damage he would have when and if he woke up.
To everyone’s surprise, he did and he was able to recognize Amy right away.
Brandon kept deteriorating though and his lungs hardened until they were useless. The right ventricle of his heart strained because of the extra work.
After months of fighting further to get his strength back, the couple was able to get Brandon put on a transplant list in Gainesville, Fla., with the University of Florida.
He was flown there in June to wait for a donor.
“That call came on July 15th. The doctor called me from his cell phone at 7 o’clock in the morning and it was awesome,” Amy said with a smile.
The surgery was successful but Brandon had to build his strength back up to be released. After five months in the hospital, he was weak.
The physical therapy team had Brandon walking two days after his double lung transplant and he was in the gym daily, working on becoming more independent.
“He got out September 8th, exactly seven months after his first symptom,” Amy said, noting the irony in the timing.
Their second wedding anniversary was able to be spent out of the hospital and on the road to recovery and the literal road back to Boerne on October 1st.
The Boerne Jeep Club and local law enforcement made sure he and Amy had a hero’s welcome.
“I fought for a long time to get back home,” Brandon said with tears in his eyes.
The couple is both vaccinated now. When Brandon first got sick, he was ineligible due to age restrictions in the vaccine rollout.
They encourage others to do the same if only to prevent them from going through what Brandon did.
Though his life will never be the same with his immune system suppressed, they found solace in each other and in their faith.
“Never give up hope, to rely on God. He’s there for us, to help us. You just have to give it to Him,” Brandon said.
Amy agreed, saying she gave it all to God and that’s what helped keep her strong during the hardest times.