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BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A COVID-19 survivor participated in a telephone town hall hosted by Congressman Filemon Vela.

Ivy Arroyo, who was born and raised in Brownsville, gave harrowing details of life on a ventilator \\u201csurrounded by death.\\u201d\\xa0

He said he lost 25 percent of his body weight and suffered a huge mental toll, with the side effects of confusion, helplessness, hallucination and anxiety

Arroyo now lives in Pflugerville, Texas. When doctors realized how serious Arroyo\\u2019s situation was he was transferred to Scott & White hospital in Temple, Texas.

He said his family was told to make plans to never see him again because his life was \\u201changing by a thread.\\u201d

Because he also has Type 2 Diabetes, Arroyo\\u2019s chances of survival were put at only four to six percent.\\xa0

But, he said, his family told medical staff that all he needed was a one percent chance of survival. \\u201cMy fight and determination would take it from there,\\u201d Arroyo told the telephone town hall.\\xa0

\\u201cThe only reason I am here today is because my body had finally had enough of these test treatments and all I could do is rip the ventilator tube from my throat. My body took it from there.\\u201d

Arroyo said he would not recommend this to others, however, because \\u201cpeople can die within minutes off of coming off a ventilator.\\u201d

Arroyo praised Congressman Vela and healthcare officials for insisting on social distancing.

\\u201cWhen people want to go out to the beach, and not practice these safety measures set forth by our leaders, this is a tragic situation fixing to happen. If people become more negligent we are going to see an increase of death and a tremendous amount of heartache.\\u201d

Arroyo said people had better listen to health officials. \\u201cOnce again, there are no test runs in life and you will not set a rest button after you die.\\u201d

The attached podcast includes the testimony Arroyo gave at the telephone town hall plus an interview Rio Grande Guardian reporter Steve Taylor secured on Sunday with Arroyo and his husband, David.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.