After a long and life-threatening fight with COVID-19, one Hayes man chooses to inspire hope in spite of his struggles.

Alfred Little Jr. began showing symptoms of COVID-19 the first week of June after days of coughing and having trouble breathing. He visited the doctor a few days later with worsened symptoms and, after a COVID test, he was sent home and instructed to use a CPAP machine to treat his symptoms.

Alfred Little Jr. with his daughter Rebecca, who has helped him through his recovery.

After his COVID-19 test came back positive and his breathing problems worsened, Little was admitted to the COVID-19 wing at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital on June 6.

“Mid-June is where everything went south,” he said.

With his condition steadily declining, Little was moved to the Intensive Care Unit around Father’s Day. He was put on a ventilator and hooked to a breathing machine because his oxygen levels were only at 84 percent. He was intubated on June 22.

In mid-July, Little...