New Mexico Man With COVID-19 Goes Home After Being Hospitalized For 550 Days
A New Mexican man returned home Friday (March 4) to continue his recovery from COVID-19 after spending 550 days in the hospital, KOB-TV reports. The Albuquerque police escorted Donnell Hunter to a rousing welcome back home in Roswell from neighbors and well-wishers.
He was admitted to the hospital in September 2020. During that time, he was heavily sedated and on a ventilator for nearly a year.
“I lost usage of my hands of my arms of everything my legs so I had to wait for all that to come back and do a lot of rehab speech therapy learn how to eat learn how to swallow I had to learn everything all over again,” Hunter told the station Saturday (March 5).
There’s a lot to catch up on, including meeting a new addition to the family.
“I met my grandson for the first time. It was amazing. He's a year now, and he acts like he had been knowing me all his life, so as soon as I woke up this morning he was the first thing on my mind,” Hunter said.
He’s not out of the woods yet. “If it takes a year to get back to normal, we will be here every step of the way if it takes five years or even if he never gets the same we are happy,” Hunter’s wife, Ashley Hunter, said.
His faith will play a big part in a full recovery.
“The Lord knows what he has in store for me. I don't. He brought me this far and I’m just going to trust in the Lord. Whatever he brings my way, that's what I will deal with,” Hunter said.
