{"id":37780,"date":"2021-02-15T13:52:11","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T20:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=37780"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:07:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T21:07:55","slug":"his-covid-19-story-how-charlie-is-mr-charming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/his-covid-19-story-how-charlie-is-mr-charming\/","title":{"rendered":"His COVID-19 story: How Charlie is Mr. Charming"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"CharlieCHambers
Charlie Chambers, of Divide, Colorado, enjoys blue sky and aspen trees after surviving COVID-19 with help from caregivers at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central. Photo: Chuck Bigger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Charlie Chambers has many talents but one love. Her name is Peggy.<\/p>\n

Charlie and Peggy met the old-fashioned way, not on a dating site or through a matchmaker, but by the harmony of chance.<\/p>\n

Charlie was cleaning up behind the bar at 2 a.m. after a bartending shift at a Cripple Creek<\/a> casino when he first heard Peggy\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I get a cup of tea?\u2019\u2019 she asked.<\/p>\n

They talked for 30 minutes or so, then parted ways. Peggy was headed back to California the next morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, nice talking to you,\u2019\u2019 Charlie said. \u201cWho knows, maybe we\u2019ll run into each other again someday.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Charlie
Charlie Chambers and his wife, Peggy, stand outside a ‘she shed’ he built for her. In Charlie’s COVID-19 story, Peggy is his leading lady. Photo: Chuck Bigger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A year later, Charlie happened to be at a restaurant he\u2019d never been to before in Colorado Springs when he saw her again. \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u2019\u2019 he asked.<\/p>\n

Peggy said she was moving to Colorado to be closer to her sister. Turns out, she grew a lot closer to Charlie. The couple married a year later, on Dec. 22, 2000. On their 20th<\/sup> wedding anniversary, Charlie and Peggy were not able to have a proper celebration \u2014 far from it.<\/p>\n

His COVID-19 story began with a case of brain fog<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A week or so earlier, both Peggy and Charlie, a professional photographer who led the Teller County Film Commission, started feeling crappy. They got tested; Peggy was positive for COVID-19 and Charlie was negative. Then, a few days later, he started coughing and his body ached as if he\u2019d been in a fistfight, and he was weak and exhausted. He couldn\u2019t focus; he had a serious case of brain fog.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t able to function much. I just felt bad,\u2019\u2019 Charlie said.<\/p>\n

A couple of days later, on Dec. 16, 2020, paramedics drove an ambulance to the front door of Charlie and Peggy\u2019s home, where they are caretakers of 200 acres in Divide, Colorado. Paramedics suited up in protective gear and then took Charlie down the mountain to UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central<\/a> in Colorado Springs. Peggy couldn\u2019t come; visitors were not allowed.<\/p>\n

\"Charlie
Charlie Chambers and his wife, Peggy, dance outside their Divide, Colorado, home. Photo: Chuck Bigger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Charlie had a severe case of COVID-19. Six caregivers gathered around him. In no time, a cannula carried oxygen to his body and he was on his way to have a CT scan so doctors could see how bad the infection was in his lungs. Charlie also had an EKG to look at his heart. He got an IV, which carried a cocktail of medications from clear plastic bags hung on metal poles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t long after that the doctor came in and said, \u2018We\u2019re going to keep you in here for a while and then we\u2019re going to move you to another room because COVID is in your lungs pretty good,\u2019 \u2018\u2019 Charlie said.<\/p>\n

A road to COVID-19 recovery<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Charlie was taken to a medical floor designated for care of COVID-19 patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got me in the room OK, then another three nurses came in and said \u2018We\u2019re here to take care of you.\u2019 So they got the blood work done and all sorts of other things. They got me going on a couple more IVs,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Robert Baron<\/a>, a hospitalist who cares for inpatients, came in and told Charlie he was receiving a steroid, along with anti-viral and anti-bacterial drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had three or four different solutions going into my IV, then there were some oral medications I had to take, some Vitamin D and other things. They got all that going and he laid it out real good. He said \u2018You\u2019re really sick. We\u2019ve got to stay on top of this\u2019 and he said, \u2018don\u2019t expect to sleep a lot at first.\u2019 \u2018\u2019<\/p>\n

Nurses were at his bedside, checking vitals, taking blood and documenting Charlie\u2019s numbers on a computer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was incredible how intensive and kind the people were \u2013 all of them, the doctors and the nurses. They were so wonderful about everything, and I found it stunning because I knew they had been through a lot,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cThey were putting in long shifts, if not double shifts, and they were just working a lot. And you could hear in the hall that there was a lot going on.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Despite the care, Charlie\u2019s condition declined. He couldn\u2019t seem to get enough oxygen. His cough worsened. He was so weak he couldn\u2019t get to the bathroom on his own.<\/p>\n

\"Charlie
Charlie Chambers and his wife, Peggy, in the living room of their home. Charlie’s COVID-19 story includes more than a week at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central battling the virus. Photo: Chuck Bigger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThey put the oxygen level up almost to nine or 10 liters and they had to put this big machine in the room, for their own safety,\u2019\u2019 he said. The machine carries any potentially contaminated air out of the building. The day shift doctor communicated with the night shift physician, Dr. Nicolas Stoyanovich<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a joint effort in how to deal with my COVID,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

His appetite was still grand<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Though exhausted, Charlie had a big appetite. He ate three meals a day and dessert, then had to scale back on the cookies because his blood sugar spiked. Doctors told Charlie that steroids can boost hunger in patients. Eventually, his blood sugar numbers declined.<\/p>\n

Four days into his stay at Memorial, Charlie began to feel stronger. Doctors were able to drop his oxygen down to three liters. Charlie could stand up and walk to the bathroom, though a nurse never left his side.<\/p>\n

Well enough to tell a few stories<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Able to breathe more easily, Charlie and the nurses began to have more conversations. Charlie told them that last summer, he built a \u2018she shed\u2019 for Peggy. Immediately, the nurses were captivated. What woman doesn\u2019t enjoy the thought of a \u2018she shed\u2019?<\/p>\n

Then Charlie told them he landscaped around the shed, planting flowers and thick grass. Then, he planted a vegetable garden but with all the critters big and small in Teller County, Charlie decided to build two 26-foot-long greenhouses. After that, he built a gazebo.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things we do, we play music and dance to Harvest Moon on the lawn, just me and Peggy, no one else around. And I want to be able this summer to get back and dance with my wife again,\u2019\u2019 Charlie told a nurse, who promptly left the room to tell her fellow nurses about Charlie dancing with Peggy.<\/p>\n

A few nurses went back to hear more from Charlie. One of them had a request for Charlie: \u201cCan you talk to my husband?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Laughter filled his hospital room.<\/p>\n

Developing a special bond<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"
Charlie and Peggy Chambers. Photo courtesy of Charlie Chambers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe grew a special bond. They were so good to me,\u2019\u2019 Charlie said of his nurses. \u201cIt was so stunning, they all became my friends and so it was really touching.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

On Dec. 22, 2020, Peggy called her husband via video chat to wish him a happy anniversary. Charlie told her that he didn\u2019t know how long he\u2019d be in the hospital, but he was feeling a lot better.<\/p>\n

The next day, Dr. Stoyanovich, thrilled with Charlie\u2019s progress, had good news for Charlie: \u201cI think we\u2019re going to be able to get you home before Christmas.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

On Christmas Eve, Charlie met with a pulmonary therapist and a few other professionals who gave him guidance on how to stay well and what to do in case of this or that.<\/p>\n

Charlie hadn\u2019t realized that while he was in the hospital, prayer chains had sprung up across the country. People in South America, England, Italy were praying.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was \u2014 for me<\/em>. Never in my life, that had never happened,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cIt was so humbling, I didn\u2019t know until I got home how many people were involved.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

On Christmas, Charlie was still contagious, so he and Peggy spent it alone. But their phone rang non-stop with people who had been praying for Charlie and wanted to express their joy that he was home. Charlie says some of them cried when they saw him via video chat.<\/p>\n

When they weren\u2019t talking with their family and friends, Charlie and Peggy celebrated their harmony.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that was my Christmas. One of the best I\u2019ve ever had.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charlie Chambers has many talents but one love. Her name is Peggy. Charlie and Peggy met the old-fashioned way, not on a dating site or through a matchmaker, but by the harmony of chance. Charlie was cleaning up behind the bar at 2 a.m. after a bartending shift at a Cripple Creek casino when he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":37781,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[4859,4860,21,2786],"class_list":["post-37780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-southern-colorado","tag-uchealth-memorial-hospital-central"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHis COVID-19 story: How Charlie is Mr. Charming - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not every COVID-19 story has a happy ending. 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