Pastor Lester’s Battle with COVID-19

Pastor Chuck Lester is the Executive Pastor and Director of Administrative Services at Christ Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. In late July 2020, Pastor Chuck and his wife both tested positive for COVID-19. As a type 2 diabetic, Chuck was worried for his health once he found out he had COVID-19. Chuck and his wife took note of their symptoms and continued to check their oxygen levels at home using a pulse oximeter. Suddenly, Chuck’s oxygen levels dropped down to 85%. “That’s when I got really concerned,” he recalled. After calling 911, the paramedics took Chuck to Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital. “All I remember from that day was talking to the doctor, telling him I didn’t want to go on life support,” said Chuck.

The next time he woke up, it was August 27th, nearly a month later. Pastor Chuck had been on life support, underwent a tracheotomy, and was still on a ventilator battling the effects of COVID-19. “When I woke up for the first time, I had no idea what had happened,” said Chuck. Once his health started to improve, Chuck was then transferred to another hospital, Regional One Health Medical Center to ween off the ventilator and start rehabilitation. After 42 days on the ventilator, Chuck was finally taken off of it and was able to breathe on his own. However, the battle didn’t stop there. It took him weeks to learn how to walk, swallow, and talk again. “The first time I walked, I took four steps with assistance, and that’s all I could do.”

The support from his family, medical team, and church helped him immensely as he recovered. “I’m grateful that I am still here and doing well,” Chuck reflected.  After recovering from COVID-19, Pastor Chuck was vaccinated once his medical team cleared him. When asked about his faith and how it connects to his decision to get vaccinated, Chuck responded that he trusts God and the vaccine. “God works in different ways, sometimes God does things that are supernatural. But God also helps with healing diseases and medication. God can work in supernatural and natural ways and we need to trust both.”