An unvaccinated mum almost died from Covid before an elderly man offered to sacrifice his ventilator to give her a better chance of survival, her son said.
Michelle Fluegge, 56, shared a shocking photograph of herself lying unconscious with tubes in her nose after catching the virus in September.
The school dinner lad, of Minnesota, in the US, lost her voice and had to relearn to walk in daily physical therapy sessions after fighting for her life in hospital.
Now she is urging others to get the coronavirus vaccine after being discharged and getting both jabs.
Ms Fluegge told the Daily Beast how Covid left her so unwell she was barely able to stand and was forced to miss her mother-in-law's funeral.
The mum-of-two, who has diabetes, said she initially felt like she was getting better before her blood oxygen level plummeted on day six of the illness.
She was discovered in the bathroom by her husband and was rushed to hospital where doctors diagnosed her with pneumonia and said she needed a ventilator.
Her son Scott told the publication how they "thought she was going to die" when it took hours to find a machine.
One ventilator became available at another hospital in the city of Minneapolis, but Ms Fluegge was not the only patient in line for it, according to Scott.
He said: “There was an older gentleman that was supposed to take the helicopter up to Minneapolis for that ventilator and my mum was younger.
"He said 'if anybody’s going to survive it’s going to be her. Don’t take me, take her’.”
Ms Fluegge was placed on the lone ventilator but her family was warned she might not make it after several days on the ward.
“Her lungs were severely damaged. So we essentially said our goodbyes," Scott said.
Relatives continued to chat to Ms Fluegge via an iPad as hospital visits were not allowed.
After three weeks on the ventilator, Scott told how he received the best call he has ever had when doctors confirmed his mum was going to make it and come off the ventilator.
Ms Fluegge spent the following weeks relearning how to walk and regain her voice and she was finally able to return home on November 20.
She was greeted by her family who were wearing t-shirts with the message "get vaccinated."
Her children explained: "Mum wanted us to share this picture of her to show what it looks like to be on a ventilator.
“None of us knew what it was like beforehand and she wants the message to be heard that getting vaccinated is important not only to you as an individual, but to the loved ones around you.”
Ms Fluegge and her husband did not avoid the Covid vaccine because they are antivaxxers, but because they had not been very exposed in their small town of 10,000 people and simply did not see an immediate need, she said.
“We didn’t know enough about it. We were scared,” Ms Fluegge added.
“A lot of people in our small town just weren’t getting vaccinated and my kids were wanting us to, but they live out of state.
"And, I don’t know, we just weren’t secure yet. But I really wish we would’ve. I wouldn’t have had ended up how I was.”
The mum had her second vaccine dose in December.
A fundraiser is now underway to help Ms Fluegge cover her medical bills as she battles with long Covid and is losing her hair.
Her son said she has been told by the school district, where she has worked for 26 years, that she will have used all of her allotted sick days by January 25.
If she does not return by the set date, she will lose her job despite still struggling to breath when standing for longer than 10 minutes.
