24-year-old coronavirus patient who was “near death” leaves Texas hospital after 79 days

A 24-year-old coronavirus patient who was hospitalized for nearly three months and placed on a respirator with “bleak odds” of survival was released from a Texas hospital on Wednesday.

© Provided by FOX News
Hoover Institution principal investigator Victor Davis Hanson argues the case of reopening schools.

“I saw a light,” said Paola Castillo as she recovered after 79 days at Medical City North Hills in Dallas, according to a hospital press release. “That light was God telling me it was time to wake up.”

TEXAS DOCTOR ER SAYS SOME HOSPITALS “ARE GETTING OUT OF THE EVIDENCE” AS A STATE FIGHT WITH CORONAVIRUS CURRENT

Castillo was admitted to the emergency department on April 27 after experiencing shortness of breath, cough, and fever for six days earlier.

Her symptoms worsened and she was put on a ventilator in the first 24 hours after being admitted to the hospital. Health workers told her husband and mother that she was in a “touch and go” situation.

Castillo told CBS affiliate DFW that he believes he contracted the virus while working at the bank and never thought it could be affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, which has infected 307,572 in Texas and killed 3,735 people. till the date.

The state has been dealing with a resurgence of new cases due to lack of social distancing precautions and the unwillingness of some to wear a mask, and some hospitals have reported that bed space has been increased beyond capacity. due to the increase in hospitalizations.

“Maybe if I had listened and worn a mask, something simple, I would have avoided all of this,” Castillo said.

She was slowly unplugged from the ventilator, but when she woke up, her ability to speak, swallow, walk and perform other physical functions had deteriorated, requiring weeks of physical therapy, the hospital said.

Castillo ventured outside to feel the rain after 67 days inside the hospital. She took her first steps since she entered on July 3 and has since been negative for the coronavirus, doctors said.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

“What we are doing right now is at the heart of what it is to be human. What the care team has done even for this patient is a sign of a life well lived and a purpose fulfilled, ”Andrea Morian, director of Rehabilitation Services at Medical City North Hills, said in a statement. “This is a single patient. The impact our teams are having on many more right now is overwhelming. ”