Cape Coral man with recent kidney transplant has health care delays due to pandemic

Months after getting a lifesaving organ transplant, one man now faces a new concern thanks to the coronavirus.

We first introduced you to David Ortiz last year, but he isn’t the only person concerned. Those who have had organ transplants face similar fears.

Ortiz got a lifesaving kidney transplant in August. For 10 years he waited for that surgery.

“Now that I got it, I feel like 10 times better.”

But now Ortiz fears his life is threatened again because he is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.

Because of the pandemic, he cannot go in for his important bloodwork or doctor visits.

“I have been able to contact them but all of my appointments got canceled,” he explained. “There’s still a lot of follow up that has to be done, being that it’s a new organ. So the doctors are, they’re kinda worried, bringing their patients into these hospitals because there are COVID-19 patients in these hospitals.”

Ortiz fears the delays jeopardize his health long term.

He’s never gone three weeks without seeing his doctor since the transplant, but he is hopeful things get better soon. “2020 it was supposed to be a year that, you know, I got my new kidney, I can go explore the world a little more.”

So he can finally enjoy his new life to the fullest.

Ortiz said his doctors are trying to think of new ways for him to still get his blood checked. That would go a long way in easing his stress.