LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A Lake County physician is in critical care after contracting COVID-19 and now his family and friends are looking to move him as his condition worsens.
Dr. Raymond Dominick has been a physician for more than 20 years and has treated hundreds of COVID-19 patients before, but he is now in the ICU at Leesburg Regional Medical Center, according to his girlfriend Terri Hicks.
“Anyone who is a patient of Dr. Dominick’s will agree he is always there trying to help. I can’t believe this is happening to him,” Hicks said.
Hicks tells News 6 Dominick’s symptoms first started off about a week ago with a headache and continued to get worse, leading to him being hospitalized with double pneumonia.
“Thursday they called us to the hospital, and they didn’t think he was going to make it, he ended up pulling through and now they have him on 100-percent oxygen, Bi-PAP giving him antibiotics, steroids,” Hicks said.
Hicks says Dr. Dominick is stable for now.
The family hopes to have him moved to a different medical center to receive other forms of treatments like convalescent plasma treatment or utilize an ECMO machine which is used to help the heart and lungs.
“They don’t have the technology, unfortunately, to take care of sick COVID-19 patients, so that’s our goal now to get him transferred to another hospital so he can get the help that he needs,” Hicks said.
Hicks also tested positive for COVID-19, but was unvaccinated, she would not say if Dr. Dominick was or not, but said this ordeal made her think differently of the virus and is urging everyone to get tested and vaccinated.
“Tell anyone that has a family member with COVID don’t wait [to] start treatment immediately make sure you are at a hospital where they have the technology that you need to get treatment… it’s a horrible disease, it’s a horrible virus I’ve never seen anything like it,” Hicks said.
News 6 did reach out to Leesburg Regional Medical Center to see if what protocols and procedures are in place to help more severe patients like Dr. Dominick, but have not heard back.