DALTON, Ga. (June 5, 2025) – Miguel Nuno-Vazquez had always been happy-go-lucky. A cook in his family’s restaurant, the Dalton resident loved his job, spending time with his family and enjoying life.
In May of 2021, Nuno-Vazquez, at age 41 and weighing 450 pounds, contracted COVID-19. The complications that ensued landed him in a coma, placed him on a 10-month hospital stay at Vitruvian Health’s Hamilton Medical Center, and required a long wound care and recovery journey that is still unfolding years later.
“My journey has been one of challenges, faith and deep gratitude,” he says, adding the support of his wife, parents, siblings, friends and the hospital staff were key in carrying him through his darkest moments.
Aside from weight-related risk factors, he had no underlying health problems he knew about. He felt well, both physically and emotionally. That is until Nuno-Vazquez became sick with symptoms he thought might have been a bad cold. He took the rare day off from work – only to find blood in his urine when he came home. He decided to take himself to the hospital.
There, Nuno-Vazquez’s medical team at Hamilton confirmed he was positive for COVID-19, but that was only the beginning. Multiple organs and systems began malfunctioning or shutting down in response to the stress his body was under. His wife received a cryptic text he doesn’t remember sending – one saying he was sorry, but he couldn’t handle the situation anymore. Not long after, his care team decided it was best for his healing to put him into a medically induced coma. Doctors were unsure about his fate.
When Nuno-Vazquez awoke, speech came back slowly. Nightmares haunted him. But something else stood out, too — the kindness he received when he felt his worst.
“The [Hamilton Medical Center] hospital staff became my friends — true friends — going far beyond what I could ever have expected,” Nuno-Vazquez says. “They chose their professions out of a calling to help others, but I feel that many of them went far beyond that, giving more than 100 percent, not only for me, but for everyone facing similar struggles, often fighting until exhaustion.”
Nuno-Vazquez says that when his outlook was most sobering, his care team still met him with a smile. He remembers telling a nurse he was struggling to find meaning in his situation. She encouraged him not to try to find answers, but to know he meant something to everyone around him.
Nuno-Vazquez began to feel like a famous actor. When he emerged from his room for tests, staff greeted him in the hallways, asking how he was feeling. Soon, hope replaced despondency. He smiled again.
During his hospital stay, Nuno-Vazquez lost 160 pounds in 10 months. But the weight had taken its toll, including a wound that put his leg at risk. He credited God, his doctors, and the right treatment at Hamilton for preventing that outcome.
After leaving the hospital, Nuno-Vazquez began going to Hamilton Wound and Hyperbaric Services and coordinating with Hamilton Home Health. At one point, when he developed an infection, Emily Ray, DO, told him the infection was bad and that he needed to go back to the hospital. Nuno-Vazquez says Dr. Ray’s caring approach helped him feel truly seen.
“Miguel’s case was one of the most complex I’ve seen, not only because of the severity of his wounds, but because of how many factors needed to managed at once,” Ray says.
“What stood out to me was his resilience. Even when setbacks came, he stayed committed to the process — and that commitment made a real difference in his healing.”
Today, Nuno-Vazquez manages chronic respiratory issues and nerve pain, which limit his ability to stand or walk for extended periods. Despite those challenges, his desire to help others through his own story has grown stronger.
In describing how having a supportive family means the world to him, Nuno-Vazquez says his wife was always by his side, and other family members provided crucial support along the way. He goes on to say that the road back to health can be a long process, even though it’s a worthwhile one.
“I’m very grateful,” says Nuno-Vazquez. “This story is not just mine. It belongs to every single person who stood beside me. Like a puzzle, every piece is valuable in this story. Together, we turned survival into hope and hope into life.”