By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
The ordeal, both terrifying and frustrating, is over. Jay Colley lost nearly 20 pounds in those two bedridden weeks but not his sense of humor.
"Hey, I'm svelte now," Colley said by telephone last week. "I've gone from being a defensive tackle to a free safety."
You can always expect self-depreciating sports analogy from Colley, who has been William & Mary's play-by-play announcer for football and men's basketball since 1982. And we can afford to laugh along. But in the final days of March, he was laid up in the hospital battling a deadly virus — COVID-19.
Colley, 63, doesn't know how or when he contracted it. All he knows is that one day he had the sniffles, the next a cough. And the next, flu-like symptoms and a fever.
He ended up spending four days in Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center. He was never put on a ventilator, and he was never in ICU. But he was often miserable, his body aching, his teeth chattering from the chills.
Now officially in the "recovered" category, Colley is regaining his strength — he's competing for the starting position at free safety, after all. And he doesn't mind sharing his story because, he believes, everyone needs to know how serious this is.
"Famous people are not making it through this thing," said Colley, a realtor with Howard Hanna. "You have the future king of England (Prince Charles) and prime minister (Boris Johnson). You have senators, singers, movie people. And you start thinking, it's probably more widespread than people think."
It was March 17, St. Patrick's Day, when Colley noticed he was constantly sniffing. A friend reminded him the pollen count was high, so he wrote it off. Then came the coughing. Then, on March 19, it was like he had been hit by a bus.
"Really bad flu-like symptoms, body aches all over, and temperature," he said. "My daughter, Carleigh, is a nurse and so on Friday (the 20th), she said I needed to go to the doctor. I went to my primary care physician and he came out to my car in the hazmat suit, so I knew there was something amiss
"He gave me the flu test, and we were all hoping that it would be the flu. But it came back negative. So he said as a precaution we're going to take the COVID test."
On Tuesday, the 24th, Colley's temperature spiked to 103.5 degrees. On his PCP's advice, he called an ambulance and went to the emergency room.
Colley's test results hadn't come back yet. But his white blood cell count was normal — it should have been elevated to fight the infection. That plus a sixth consecutive day with a fever made Colley's doctors fairly certain he was COVID-positive.
Colley detailed the experience in his journal:
My oxygen level in my blood is at 96 percent. Nurse said that was fine. The doctor came in and asked me some questions and I asked her when she indicated that she was probably sending me home, 'How do I know when to come back?' And she said, 'When you feel like you're dying.' I took that to mean they did not want to use any hospital beds for a disease they don't have a treatment for.
Then, on Wednesday the 25th:
Actually feeling really good this morning. Not much aches and breathing is OK. A cough every now and then. The results should be in today. (They wouldn't be). … Temperature is 99.9. She gave me a Z-Pak to take and an inhaler.
His next entry came on Saturday the 28th.
"Not a good day yesterday (Friday). … Did not feel like eating, 102.5 temperature, started getting the shakes again. … This morning, still at 102.5. … I still have no results from the test.
That day, Colley was admitted to the hospital. Two days later — and 10 days after it was taken — his COVID test came back positive. The day after that, March 31, Colley was released from the hospital with a doctor's letter stating he was no longer infected.
While in the hospital, Colley was given a dose of Hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that some believe might help with COVID. He was given a four-day supply to take at home. His symptoms did improve, but it's uncertain whether that was the drug or the fact that the virus was in his final stages.
"I was on like the 14th day, and the doctors were saying that days eight through 12 are traditionally the hardest," he said. "And sure enough, that was exactly right."
Following his doctor's instructions, Colley quarantined himself away from his wife, Cindy, and her 88-year-old father for seven days. That ended Wednesday, April 8.
"My wonderful wife would knock on the door with food and put it on the floor," Colley said. "I'd open the door, get my food off the floor and eat what I could. I wasn't real, real hungry, and that's why I've lost I lost about 18 pounds during this process.
"My wife was the superhero in this deal. She had to keep a cool head about herself all the while protecting herself and her dad while trying to nurse her husband, who she couldn't get within six feet of."
Two weeks after officially being declared "recovered," Colley is allowed to live like the rest of us — social distance still encouraged but able to go for walks around the neighborhood. He's gained about five pounds back.
And as he does in calling Tribe games, Colley made a couple of observations.
"One, my reading glasses weren't lost in two weeks because I only went from my bedroom to my sunroom," he said. "That's a record. And my Visa bill is considerably less so far this month. So, there's that."
And one more thing …
"Thanks to all my friends for all their prayers," he said. "I know they helped."
