NJ Man Makes 'Miracle' Coronavirus Recovery At Wayne Facility
WAYNE, NJ — To say things weren't looking good for Luis Martinez would be an understatement. A massive understatement.
Martinez, a 62-year-old Elizabeth man, was admitted to the Lakeview Rehabilitation & Care Center on May 26, according to a statement from the facility.
He couldn't eat, he couldn't talk, he couldn't even move, let alone breathe on his own. Martinez was one of 185,938 New Jersey residents to contract the coronavirus.
When he arrived at Lakeview, Martinez had a tracheostomy tube, was ventilator-dependent, and had a gastrostomy tube, according to a representative for the facility.
"He was in a very compromised state when he arrived,” said Lakeview Administrator James Gardner.
That compromised state often doesn't lead to a cheery result. According to a May study published by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, over 30 percent of patients placed on ventilators have died.
However, Luis Martinez did not find himself in that group.
In what staffers at the facility are calling a "miracle," Martinez recovered from the coronavirus and left the facility last week after months of intensive care.
“From the day he came through our doors, Luis received comprehensive and integrated treatment from our respiratory and nursing professionals as well as from members of our physical, occupational and speech therapy teams," Gardner said.
Through physical and respiratory therapy, as well as "aggressive nursing care," Martinez was eventually weaned off the ventilator, and had the tracheostomy and gastrostomy tube removed.
When he came to the facility, Martinez was unable to walk. Last week, he left the facility under his own power, aided only by a walker.
"This is one example of a ventilator-dependent patient who, because of the combined efforts of Lakeview’s comprehensive team, the patient walked out of the door without assistance," said Gardner.
Recoveries like these can serve as not only a reminder of what is possible, but can also provide at least a brief moment of joy for employees of the facility, who have been faced with immense grief during the months long pandemic.
"Against a backdrop of the overwhelming sadness associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing Luis leave our facility the way he did was a welcome sight for all of Lakeview’s front-line heroes who have given so selflessly for the past several months," Gardner said.
Lakeview has posted video of Martinez leaving the facility, immediately greeted by family and cheering staff members.
Watch below:
This article originally appeared on the Wayne Patch
