Ryan Long is now a 16-day “Jeopardy!” champion.

However, he almost didn’t make it to the stage.

In January, he was hospitalized with COVID-19 or 2 and a half weeks.

Ryan admitted that he didn’t like going to the hospitals, or doctors, in general.

However, he admitted “this time, though, I didn’t have a choice.”

“The hospital staff brought it home to me pretty quickly that they weren’t sure I’d make it,” he revealed.

He said that he still keeps the photos of his “saturated lungs” on his phone.

“The experience taught me not to take anything for granted,” he explained.

He said the experience ignited “the fire to do something with my life.”