A survivor of the COVID-19, who nearly died from the virus last week, is repudiating Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for outlawing hydroxychloroquine, a drug that he attributes to saving his life, from doctors and pharmacists amid mass hysteria ignited by the global pandemic.

After wheezing and struggling to breathe with a racing heart for four days, 38-year old Jim Santilli began staring at the clock on the wall while lying in a hospital bed wondering if the next hour would be his last.

“On March 18, it was a Wednesday, I suddenly developed severe cardiac and respiratory issues. My heart rate was up in the 160s. I had extremely high blood pressure suddenly and then also had difficulty breathing, coughing and some wheezing taking place,” Santilli explained in an exclusive interview with The Gateway Pundit. “So I went to Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township,” he explained. “Immediately upon arrival they suspected COVID-19.”

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“Throughout the days, my condition continued to worsen. The trouble breathing got worse. My vitals were up and down the whole time. By Saturday morning, March 21, I was at a point that I truly did not believe that I would live to see midnight that night. The gasping for air was just so bad, I felt like I was drowning.”

Doctors gave Santilli, CEO of the Transportation Improvement Association, numerous medications but as his respiratory condition became more severe, none were effective.

“Unfortunately, with COVID, they really have their hands tied. They could not actually give me albuterol through a breathing treatment because the tiny droplets could spread in the air. If you have COVID-19, you’re restricted to just a regular inhaler,” he said. “I was also getting some steroids, however, that’s the other issue, I couldn’t use a higher dose – steroids can have an adverse effect on COVI-19. They gave me some antibiotics as well.”

Alarmed after administering all remedies to no avail, doctors resorted to deploying an infectious disease specialist who finally provided a solution.

“They did another chest x-ray that day that actually showed the condition inside my lungs was worsening – I even had some partial collapsing going on. The physician came to see me and told me basically that they had exhausted all options at that point,” he said. “That was the scariest part – being in the hospital, trying treatment and not getting better. That was the first time in my life I had experienced something so horrible.

“The infectious disease physician came to see me and immediately recommended using hydroxychloroquine and the azithromycin. Immediately upon receiving the hydroxychloroquine, as well as the azithromycin that Saturday evening, probably within a period of about 2 hours, I got a drastic improvement, a total 180 degrees. The gasping for air stopped. My vitals were improving,” Santilli said. “To be honest – I was in tears because I actually had hope. I felt that I could finally beat whatever I was battling.”

Despite President Trump’s announcement detailing the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in combatting the illness that has reportedly been contracted by at least 121,285 people in the US and led to the deaths of over 2,000 Americans, Democrat lawmakers are banning the medicine.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs on Thursday issued a warning to all physicians and pharmacists in the state, threatening “professional consequences” if they prescribe or dispense hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to treat coronavirus patients.

“Beyond the rational recommendation against hoarding as production of this medication needs to be ramped up, the letter deviates into open threats of “administrative action” against the licenses of doctors that prescribe hydroxychloroquine,” The Detroit News reports.

The governor is also ordering pharmacists to “ignore physician orders for this medication” while health care providers are “required to report inappropriate prescribing practices.”

Trump blasted Whitmer on Friday night warning the first-term governor “doesn’t have a clue.”

I love Michigan, one of the reasons we are doing such a GREAT job for them during this horrible Pandemic. Yet your Governor, Gretchen “Half” Whitmer is way in over her head, she doesn’t have a clue. Likes blaming everyone for her own ineptitude! #MAGA — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2020

Nevada’s Democrat Governor Steve Sisolak also banned the use of the anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus patients on Tuesday, issuing an executive order immediately after Trump touted the medication.

“That upsets me because I know that it saved my life. I know that that combination has great potential to save other people’s lives,” Santilli continued. “We should not be taking that resource and that life-saving combination away from the people of this great state or anywhere in this world. Nobody should be sentenced to death because of partisan politics and I believe that’s what she is engaging in.”

Santilli suspects there is only one reason why any public officials would ban the life-saving medication.

“I think a lot of them there doing it because President Trump suggested it and they don’t want to make the president look good,” he said. “That’s not how it should be. If they truly care about the American people and truly care about doing what’s right, you would not go against this. If something is working you would support and you would want your people to have access to this so their lives could be saved and suffering could be ended.

Democrat lawmakers, he argued, appear to be using the global pandemic as another means to sabotage Trump’s reelection.

“I think [Democrats] want people unemployed to get those unemployment numbers up. And to be able to use that against the president’s reelection. It’s clear as day from the day he stepped in the White House [the media and the Democrats] have been out to get him.”

Whitmer, who has only been Michigan’s governor for 14 months, has only been an embarrassment to the state, Santilli concluded.

“Just looking at how she’s handled this whole situation, it’s very disappointing. I’m actually ashamed that she’s our governor. This isn’t about partisan politics. If it were a Republican governor, I’d be saying the same thing if they were handling it in the same manner that she is.”