A 34-year-old man from Pasadena, CA died on Thursday morning from coronavirus, just two weeks after visiting and Walt Disney World in and Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
TMZ reported that man Jeffrey Ghazarian was considered a higher-risk patient with a history of asthma and childhood bronchitis. He also had undergone testicular cancer surgery in 2016.
Ghazarian had flown from Los Angeles to Orlando on March 2nd for a conference and then stayed a couple extra days to visit both Disney World and Universal theme parks with his friends. He then developed a cough on March 7th and the next day he coughed up blood. He flew back to LAX on March 9th and immediately went to the ER, where he also had a high fever.
After a chest x-ray confirmed he had pneumonia, he was tested for COVID-19, sent home and told to self-quarantine with fluids and antibiotics.
According to TMZ, Ghazarian's family said the results came back positive on March 13th. He was then given an oxygen meter and told to watch his levels. He was declining by that afternoon. On March 14th, he was rushed to the hospital, and taken into the ICU, "his lungs 60-70 percent blocked with pneumonia."
Doctors sedated and intubated him, but the ventilator failed to help his lungs heal. He passed five days later.
His family says he was approved to receive antiviral medication but "the medication was delayed in getting to him."
"He suffered a lot and put up a good fight," his sister told TMZ. "We will miss our Jeff everyday but we are thankful for all the fun happy memories of the times we had together."
Photo credit: Jacqueline Nell/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images