The former goalkeeper of Blooming, Bolívar, Oriente, The Strongest and the Bolivian national team recovered from Covid-19 and an accident that caused burns all over his body.
Life has given Carlos Arias a new opportunity and he does not miss it. He is slowly returning to normality after a serious work accident that almost cost him his life. It was a complicated moment, but he is getting better and better, and jovial as always, he attended us to talk for a while.
The renowned goalkeeper is now behind him, although the unforgettable moments in soccer are always at hand to relive them. It is not for less, he was goalkeeper of the most important teams of the country and also played in Spain and Israel. At the age of 18 he became national champion and was the goalkeeper of the Bolivian national team for a long time.
El Pollo' played for Blooming, The Strongest, Bolívar, Maccabi Netanya, Córdoba C.F., Oriente Petrolero, Guabirá and Sport Boys Warnes.
But he moved away from the courts and started a new life, with private enterprises such as the broasted chicken shops he runs. It was precisely in one of them where he suffered the accident that almost cost him his life and left him with scars that he still suffers in the flesh.
"I survived twice in less than a year", says the 42 year old Portachueleño, and tells that first it was the Covid-19 that squeezed his lungs and then the accident in his restaurant "Pollo" Arias in which the flames almost extinguished his existence.
Three months after the accident, he still has after-effects. Carlos is optimistic, with faith in God and grateful to all those who gave him a helping hand when he needed it most.
Pollo relives the accident as a terrible movie. He has very clear images...
-I remember that I went out in the middle of the fire; when the gas was mixed with the fire I received a blow that knocked me backwards. I understood that I had fallen because I wanted to get up but I couldn't, maybe it was because of the kitchen floor... it was a desperation, a screaming on my part... When I managed to stand up I saw fire everywhere and the first thing I did was to run for it.
Did you lose consciousness?
-No, not at any moment, because after I heard the cylinder start to ring I went in to turn it off because of the serious danger it meant, because there were more cylinders in the place and one thinks that everything is going to explode.
What caused it all?
-They are accidents that happen. They thought that the cylinder was closed but it had been turned... I fought and fought but it was too late because the fire broke out because the 'flamazo', as they call it when gas accumulated in the kitchen. I went out, ran, went back in, called for help, I wanted them to call the ambulance. At one point I could not stand it any longer and they took me to the Ucebol clinic where they gave me first aid; then I was in the Caja Petrolera de Salud receiving great attention.
How much of your body was affected by the fire?
-I ended up burning almost 70% of my body with second degree wounds and only one third degree wound (the most serious). Thank God now I only have the after-effects of the burn spots. I have to wear bandages on both arms for several more months to protect me from the sun, because it cannot hit me directly; they are bandages that apply pressure and prevent further damage to my skin.
She stands up and shows the upper part of her arms, on the left one she has places where the skin has not yet completely regenerated and permanently has blisters.
Was your life in danger?
-Yes, my life was in danger. Hours after the accident I had the first emergency cleaning..., I really could not stand so much pain because there were many wounds and they were very big. The next day they had to sedate me and intubate me to be able to perform a total cleaning; but the bad thing was that I had a cardiac arrhythmia, that's why I was in intensive care for three days.
A complicated moment...
-Of course, I was saved, thank God.
And what is happening now, three months after the event?
-On April 5 it was three months since the accident, after which I started to walk, jog and even ride a bicycle, trying to get back to almost normality... it will be normality for me when I can go back to practicing the sports I like, without having to run away from the sun.
The important thing is that everything is evolving well?
-My vital organs are perfect. When I went into the operating room for the first time, on January 8, I suffered a cardiac arrhythmia, I suddenly became hypertensive because I had played 18 years in professional soccer and we always had complete examinations before starting each preseason, but they had never detected any problem in my heart. The doctors explained to me that this was normal because of the accident I had suffered, in which the body loses many of its properties, so it is normal for the heart to start beating faster to recover everything it needs.
And how long will you need for a full recovery?
-I have been told at Cerniquem that it will take between 8 months and a year for me to recover the dermis and epidermis I lost. The burns leave stains, scars, but I am not really worried about whether I am stained or not; what is most important for me today is that I am alive and that I have another chance in this world after life has hit me so hard in one year.
What happened before...?
-In April 2021 I was attacked by Covid, which affected 85% of my lungs... I almost died because I had to be intubated with so much lung involvement. A doctor told me that it was a miracle that with 85% of my lungs affected and that they had not intubated me... But of course, I needed oxygen at home, they put me on 15 medications a day.
But at the end of the year you were fine?
-Of course, in December I went to play the Oriente-Blooming classic in Naples (United States), I was hit by Covid again, on December 30 I tested negative and on January 5 this happened to me (the accident in your restaurant)... so I came back beaten up.
But you always received a lot of support and affection?
-In all this the support of the family is very important, my wife, children, siblings, many relatives and -of course- so many friends who collaborated; I am grateful to all of them for these shows of solidarity in Santa Cruz, in the interior of the country... they have helped us to alleviate the burden because, as you know, a person died and the relatives have to be compensated. The expenses were impressive because although I had insurance in the Caja Petrolera (my wife had insured me 3 days ago) but the medicines were not covered by the insurance, precisely because of a matter of seniority; anyway, we saved a lot because I needed an operating room five times, specialists and so many expenses that an event of this nature demands.
But you are getting ahead...
-God knows why things happen... and at the end of the day he will know when I am going to leave. Look, in one year I was on the brink of the abyss in the two most serious deaths: drowning (lack of oxygen from the Covid) and burning alive. If you ask me which of the two (deaths) is the ugliest...I really don't know because in both cases the feeling is horrible.
Did what happened to you in a year change your life or did it change the way you look at life?
-I see it like this: although I don't consider myself an angel, I'm not a thumper, I'm not a rogue, I'm not a crook, I try to be fair with people, I've always believed in God. Living a year in Israel changed my mentality about religion: if the Arabs had discovered America, we would be of the Muslim religion, the same as if the Jews had discovered us...in the end it is all that they inculcate in us; the Spaniards arrived first and introduced us to Christianity. There is a God and I believe in him because he saved me, that's why I try to be fair and supportive.
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