The wife of an Arizona man with COVID-19 is opening up about her family's heartbreaking experience with the novel coronavirus as she watches her husband's condition decline over FaceTime.
Bob Horbaczewski, a 47-year-old father of three, has been hospitalized with COVID-19 since mid-December after his entire family contracted the virus, KPNX reported.
His wife, Monique Horbaczewski, told the local news outlet she's had to watch his struggles virtually as she cannot be in the hospital room with him.
"The last person I ever thought this would happen to is my husband, Bob. He is an ox," she said.
According to Monique, Bob has no underlying medical conditions and had been an image of health prior to contracting COVID-19.
Since falling ill, he has been put on a ventilator and admitted to Scottsdale Shea Medical Center in order to have access to an ECMO machine.
RELATED: Man Writes Final Love Letter to Wife Before Dying from COVID-19: 'We Had Our Time & It Was Wonderful'
Doctors have told the family that Bob has suffered so much damage that he'll likely require a lung transplant, Monique said.
"The ICU doctor told me there's very little hope and a lot that can go wrong," she told KPNX, adding that she feels "like his status is changing every hour."
"I promised him that if he keeps fighting and he pulls through that I will never take another kiss, or another hug, another smile, even another fight for granted," Monique said. "I feel helpless. I feel like I can't help him."
Monique said the family now needs to find insurance that will cover a life-saving procedure for Bob, who resigned from his teaching job in November before getting sick.
"The Horbaczewski Family needs to be showered with love and support during a very difficult season," the description of a GoFundMe campaign created on behalf of Monique reads.
"The whole family contracted COVID-19 a couple of weeks ago, but Bob, who never gets sick, ended up in the hospital due to difficulty breathing," the page continues. "Family cannot visit with the current restrictions, and his condition is critical."
According to a Jan. 4 update, Bob recently underwent emergency surgery and doctors "switched his intubation tube to a trach tube."
"My point Posting this to let people know and to be aware that this virus is no joke, and it effect everyone so different!!" Monique wrote in a Facebook post, which was shared on fundraiser's page. "I get to face time and talk with him, but he is completely unconscious."
As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe has raised more than $26,000 toward its $100,000 goal.
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.
Source: Read Full Article