COVID-19-related hospitalizations are up in New Jersey. There are currently 6,075 COVID patients in New Jersey hospitals, according to state data.

One of those patients was 32-year-old Brian Deguzman. He was home for the holidays to propose, but was soon rushed to the hospital.

After 13 years of dating, Deguzman says that the moment had to be just right – Christmas Day at home in the Garden State. He and his fiancée Allie moved to Texas over the summer for his sales job. With the virus surging, they were hesitant to travel. But for this, they needed to be close to family.

Allie said yes to the proposal. But the next day, Deguzman started coughing. The day after that, Deguzman couldn’t breathe. They raced to the hospital.

“And I remember she walked me up to the ER and it was jam-packed. It felt like I was going into a war zone,” Deguzman says.

There were more traumatic moments. A few days after being in the hospital, his roommate, who was an older man with COVID-19, died.

“A few feet away from me, the guy passed away. And he’s like going through the same thing as me,” says Deguzman. “And of course, it’s running through my head, that could be me.”

Later in the week, Deguzman was able to talk and walk again. Maybe because of his youth, or luck or the treatments. All certainly helped. He says he has big plans in life.

He also thanks the tenacious doctors and nurses, who he says despite working to the bone, were there every step of the way.

“The nurses, they were amazing. Thank God for them for paying attention to me,” Deguzman says.

Deguzman was not vaccinated. He says that his ordeal changed his view. He says that it could be months before his lungs are normal. He says that his main message is that nurses are heroes.