VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - "It was like a nightmare, something you see in a movie," said Annesa Faticoni.
Fifty-four-year-old Virginia Beach resident Faticoni is recovering from COVID-19.
"I use this thing three times a day, blow in this three times a day. I have to put this on my finger. I have regular oxygen and portable oxygen," she shows News 3 via Zoom.
About a month ago, she got her first Pfizer shot but didn't get the second dose after listening to a family member telling her it wasn't necessary and to not trust science.
"I have no problem admitting I was wrong," she said.
Faticoni is a yoga instructor, paddleboarder and CrossFitter - healthy as can be, but she still came down with the virus.
She went to the hospital, but doctors didn't admit her because her symptoms didn't meet the criteria and the ER was full.
Six days later, she got sicker - to the point she was going to take her own life.
"They found me with a gun in the closet," said Faticoni.
She was rushed to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, where she spent three weeks fighting for her life.
"They are doing everything they can, but until you are in there, you don't know how busy it is," she said. "People are screaming in pain and they can't breathe."
She described the emergency room as inundated, but the people caring for her and others she calls heroes.
"They take the oath, and they don't care you were an absolute imbecile and didn't get vaccinated," she said.
In the Commonwealth so far this year, more than 1,500 people who are partially vaccinated have been infected with COVID-19. More than 3,000 unvaccinated people have gotten the virus.
"This is a deadly virus - no different than smallpox or anything else like the plague," she said.
Faticoni has a message for anyone on the fence to get the shot like she once was. She hopes her story saves lives.
"You need to do it because it's one step away from manslaughter because I could have given it to a child or someone who couldn't fight it," she said. "You have to do it for your family and your community."
