The 43-year-old contracted COVID-19 in September 2020. He spent 549 days in nine different hospitals and long-term care facilities in two states – Arizona and New Mexico. He eventually recovered and returned to his home in Roswell, New Mexico, but still has trouble breathing, right arm dexterity, and a wheelchair.
- The 43-year-old American has had an exceptionally long battle with the disease after contracting the coronavirus
- It hit COVID-19 in September 2020, so — as the family emphasizes — long before vaccines were invented
- For a year and a half he stayed in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, struggling with the effects of the disease (primarily with breathing problems and motor skills)
- Check your health. Just answer these questions
- More information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page
«I don’t take anything for granted. For almost 550 days I haven’t seen my children, I became a grandfather and that’s a great thing » — Donnell Hunter told CNN. «I love my family, my children and my wife more than I love myself. So when I fought, I fought for them » — added the father of seven.
The longest path to health
Donnell Hunter is one of the 4,5 million Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the registry in August 2020. His story is remarkable. The man recovered 459 days, while according to CDC data, the average length of an adult hospital stay is five to eight days depending on the coronavirus variant.
Read: The Polish patient spent 140 days under ECMO. It is risky, very expensive, it does not heal, but it saves lives. What is this?
Donnell is not yet able to breathe on his own due to the lingering effects of complications from COVID-19. He’s partially dumbed down in his right hand, but he hopes to get it back someday. Currently, he can walk with the help of another person or use a wheelchair.
The rest of the article is available under the video.
It started with breathing problems
In September 2020, Donnell Hunter worked as an installation operator for a gas company. He was at work when he started having trouble breathing. When he was hospitalized in Carlsbad, New Mexico, he was found to have COVID-19. Soon he was transferred to a larger hospital in Albuquerque. There he was intubated and connected to a ventilator.
The man took care of his health, exercised in the gym, conducted football training for teenagers, played basketball and volleyball. However, he suffered from kidney disease for most of his life. At the age of 15, he experienced kidney failure after being diagnosed with glomerulonephritis, a disease that causes inflammation and organ damage. He was on dialysis for 15 years and underwent kidney transplant surgery in 2015.
The man has seven children. Five younger adults aged 4, 8, 11, 13 and 14 and two adults from a previous relationship aged 21 and 27. In a year and a half, Donnell Hunter missed his daughter’s first day of preschool, his son’s entire season of youth football, the birth of a grandson, and countless other memories that would have been important to him. All because of the long battle with COVID-19. As CNN said, he now wants to recover enough to go back to work someday, but he knows it will take a long time.
We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time we were wondering why switching our thinking and acting to slow life is a real challenge? Why is listening to your needs so important? What will it do for us? You will hear about it below.
http://resetmedonet.libsyn.com/slow-life-czyli-o-odwadze-bycia-tu-i-teraz-agnieszka-wietlik
The editorial board recommends:
- “The helplessness was the worst.” Dorota was 38 days in a coma. After COVID-19, she had to learn to breathe, talk, and walk again
- NOPs after mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. Huge US study and a clear conclusion
- They don’t want to go for the third dose. The doctor responds with “unconvinced”