CINCINNATI, Ohio — An elderly man who was so sick that doctors thought he would die from the coronavirus, is making a surprising recovery.
- Gary Campbell is recovering after 45 days in the hospital
- Doctor’s credit the ventilator, while Campbell credits supportive family for helping him survive
- Still has longterm impacts
The day 76-year-old Gary Campbell was released from the hospital is one he never thought he’d see. It was a recovery he never thought he’d make, and the home and family he never thought he’d spend time with again after he went on a cruise and came back sick with the coronavirus.
“I had a very severe cough, headache, they originally.. and then based on my symptoms, they sent me to the hospital, basically that’s all I remember for 45 days,” said Campbell.
Gary was put in a medically-induced coma.
He was so sick doctors had to keep him sedated to get him on a ventilator to help him breathe. But that wasn’t the only problem.
“He started to swell, he blew up to 100 pounds more than he is right now, then his kidneys and the rest of his body started shutting down,” said Gary’s wife Linda Campbell. “At that point i did not think he would make it."
Doctor’s didn’t think he’d make it either.
“We said the chance to survive is low,” said UC Health Dr. Daniel Tanase.
He was being treated at University of Cincinnati Hospital in West Chester, where he was not only on the ventilator, but given multiple medications for the infections he developed on top of the virus.
But doctor’s say something happened when they started making changes.
“I think the main thing was how we played with the ventilator, how we played with the oxygen and the pressure and the volumes of air, and I think that was the most crucial part of the treatment,” said Dr. Tanase.
Gary slowly started getting better, and woke up in a hospital bed 45 days later.
“I’m not sure I had any kind of reaction, it was kinda like a bad dream, it was a bad dream,” said Gary Campbell.
But he credits his family, his family of doctors, nurses, and relatives who helped him heal and are still helping him recover.
“Terribly, terribly weak, as you can imagine, because of the amount of time I spent in the hospital, but you know what? I’m standing and walking as we speak,” said Campbell.
He’s walking away from a virus that nearly took his life — but he made it.
“It’s not about me, it’s about others that see this can see that you can survive, that you can fight through this, you can win the battle,” said Campbell.