There are more than 390,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, with the most serious patients needing a ventilator to breathe for them while their damaged lungs recover.
For many, it's both a life-changing and life-saving experience. Shortly after testing positive for the coronavirus, Cleveland resident Nic Brown started to lose lung function and was intubated.
Intubation is the process of inserting a tube through the mouth and then into the airway so a person can be placed on a ventilator to assist with breathing. "I was actually in a medically-induced coma for three days and during that process, they put me on a ventilator, where I spent seven additional days," Brown said.