Scott Radley: CHCH TV sportscaster Bubba O’Neil returns after ‘scary’ battle with COVID
When Bubba O'Neil returns to your TV screen Thursday evening to deliver the sports news on CHCH after a five-week absence, he'll surely be smiling and acting as normal as possible.
What he's been through has been far from that, though. A bout of COVID that had him hospitalized and then some frightening side effects that were even worse have been truly concerning.
I was in bad shape," the 54-year-old says.
When he drove himself to hospital on April 18 after feeling unwell and realizing he was checking off nearly every box on the COVID symptom chart, things were rough. Within minutes of being admitted, he had oxygen tubes up his nose and was facing a battery of tests. Including one that said he did have the virus.
The next few days were unpleasant but eventually O'Neil turned a corner, the virus having run its course. He was sent home and he was feeling pretty good. Good enough that the next day he decided to make the short trip to his mother's for dinner. But by the time he got to his building's parking garage, something was seriously wrong.
Within seconds he was ill, sweating profusely, dizzy, light-headed, could barely breathe and thought he was going to pass out.
I stumbled to the car," he says. And all I can think about is, I'm in the garage by myself. I have no help here."
Once the car door opened, he fell face-first onto the driver's seat then thinks he passed out. He's not sure how long he was there. Then as suddenly as it all came on, all the symptoms were gone.
What kind of episode was that?" he asked himself as he sat there for a few minutes deciding whether he was really back to normal.
Convinced whatever it was had passed, he made the short drive to his mother's. Yet as he parked in front of her place, it started again. He barely made it the 20 feet to her front door, having to stop halfway and lean on a railing that was the only thing keeping him upright. Now panicky, he thought he might be able to go no further. When he finally got inside, he collapsed on a kitchen chair.
Within minutes, he was back in hospital.
Some blood clots had developed in my lungs and that's why I couldn't breathe," he says.
Numerous studies suggest those with COVID - particularly those with serious cases - are at an increased risk of having a pulmonary embolism. O'Neil says doctors told him his were indeed a remnant of the virus.
They're incredibly dangerous. He realizes he could've had a heart attack in the garage or at his mom's or anywhere in between.
That could've been it," he says.
He admits as scary as the first hospital visit was, this was more frightening. And as lousy as he felt the first time, this was worse. He was hooked up to wires for days. He lost track of how many pills he was being fed. Twice a day he was getting injections of blood thinners. There were CT scans and X rays and any other test you could imagine. He was exhausted and remembers feeling like he was freezing.
I felt like crap," he says.
It was days before he learned of the clots and how the impact on his heart. That damage will heal in time, he's been told. Still, the doctor made it clear how serious all this was.
The one positive, he says, were the hundreds of text messages he received and hundreds of social media posts encouraging him to get better. Overwhelming, he calls the response. During low moments - and there were plenty - these words helped.
A week ago Monday, he was released from hospital a second time. He stayed with his mother for a while. He still has to see the doctor regularly but he's finally getting close to feeling normal again. Good enough to get back to work, at least a few days a week. To start.
I'm just happy to feel like myself again," O'Neil says. Because this has been a long time."
Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com