Flu patient battling for his life at Indianapolis hospital

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Newly released data shows the number of Hoosiers being hospitalized for flu-like symptoms or pneumonia is on the increase. For one Indianapolis woman, those numbers are all too real.

Gretchen Arregoita's boyfriend, Hilario Martinez, is in the intensive care unit at Wishard Hospital. He has been there two weeks now and is in critical condition.

"He's in a bed and his bed turns all day long," Arregoita said. "He's face down and he'll go back and forth and he goes face up and it goes back and forth."

Arregoita said Martinez has a breathing tube with a ventilator that breathes for him. She also said Martinez is on oxygen and is in a drug-induced coma.

"It started off with just a cough, a normal cough," Arregoita said. "We both got sick with what we thought was just a cold. He went and got a penicillin injection, plus he got antibiotics, plus he was taking Tylenol. He called me and he said, 'I'm getting sicker. I want to go to the hospital.'"

Todd Harper, a spokesperson at Wishard Hospital, said there were no doctors available for interviews Wednesday because they were all too busy treating patients. However, Harper said there are currently three patients with H1N1 in Wishard's intensive care unit. That number has been as high as five.

Gretchen Arregoita said she has no choice now but to wait and see what fate has in store for her boyfriend.

"Just waiting. We just want him out of there, we want him to be healthy. We want them to give us answers. We want answers as to why he's so sick."