After more than a month in a Baltimore hospital, a Howard County, Maryland, man celebrates his recovery from the coronavirus.
Steve Nicewarner is the 1000th COVID-19 patient released from the University of Maryland hospitals.
Courtesy of the Nicewarner family.
Steve Nicewarner, from Maryland, spent 10 days in the ICU, according to his wife, Cindy.
Courtesy of the Nicewarner family.
Steve Nicewarner’s daughter Johnna is a nurse at the hospital where he was admitted for the coronavirus.
Courtesy of the University of Maryland Medical System
After more than a month in a hospital in Baltimore, Howard County, Maryland, the man celebrates his recovery from the coronavirus.
On May 17, Steve Nicewarner, 57, of Elkridge, developed a fever. The next day, he went to his family’s doctor and found he had COVID-19.
The news was not a surprise since Nicewarner’s two daughters had already tested positive for the coronavirus.
As the disease progressed, Nicewarner said he postponed going to the hospital until he couldn’t take it anymore. He was rushed to the hospital on May 24 as his condition worsened, according to a press release from the University of Maryland Medical System.
“My fear was that I would go to the hospital and never go out again,” Nicewarner said.
Nicewarner doesn’t remember much of his hospital stay, but his family remembers those days well.
Once admitted to the emergency room of the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, Nicewarner’s wife, Cindy, said her husband’s health deteriorated rapidly.
Within an hour, he went from a room in the COVID-19 wing of the hospital to the intensive care unit.
“We didn’t have our eyes on him, so it was scary,” said Cindy Nicewarner.
Two days after his stay, Steve Nicewarner had to be placed on a fan. He was on a respirator for 10 days and was very sedated because the machine had to be set to its highest position, said Cindy Nicewarner.
Due to coronavirus restrictions, Steve Nicewarner did not have his family by his side. Not even one of his daughters, who is an emergency room nurse at the same hospital where he was admitted.
“The hardest part for us was knowing that he would be waking up and that the sedation would be disappearing, and he would realize where he was, and then there would be no known faces,” said Cindy Nicewarner.
However, Steve Nicewarner’s nurses were able to arrange a video conference for the family so they could talk and see him.
“Fortunately, like many of our other patients and most of our other COVID-19 patients, even those who are the most ill and critically ill, he was finally able to recover and return home to his family after a few weeks of care. hospital, “said Dr. Peter Olivieri, a pulmonary and critical care physician who helped care for him.
After 31 days in the hospital, Nicewarner was given the green light to go home.
When he was released from the hospital, he was greeted by his family, who had not seen him since they left him in the emergency room.
His family played Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” game, something they promised they would do for him, since he didn’t remember the hospital playing it for him when he left the ICU.
“When they got to that corner pushing their wheelchair, it was like, oh my gosh, it was very emotional,” said Cindy Nicewarner.
Steve Nicewarner is still working to regain strength in his arms and legs. He is also hoping to regain his ability to taste food, something he said he lost due to illness. You should also quarantine at home because you still test positive for the disease.
The father and husband said they are happy to be at home with their loved ones and sleep in their bed.
Despite the fact that her two daughters tested positive for the coronavirus, Cindy Nicewarner said she never contracted the disease. She believes it could be the result of a University of Maryland study on the drug hydroxychloroquine, in which she participated early after her husband was admitted.
Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalarial drug that is being studied as a possible treatment with COVID-19.
Results published by the New England Journal of Medicine last month showed that hydroxychloroquine was no better than placebo pills at preventing coronavirus disease. However, a study by a team at the Henry Ford Health System in Southeast Michigan stated that their study of 2,541 hospitalized patients found that those who received hydroxychloroquine were much less likely to die, CNN reported.
The University of Maryland Medical System said Steve Nicewarner was the 1,000th COVID-19 positive patient who returned home from system hospitals.
The Nicewarner family said they are grateful for the care Steve Nicewarner received at the hospital. He said this was the second medical condition in two years that nearly claimed his life, and he is looking forward to getting the answer to a question.
“I’m trying to figure out what God’s plan is for me because he has something in mind because he keeps leaving me on earth,” said Steve Nicewarner.
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