“They saved him,” Beaufort wife says seconds before seeing husband who survived coronavirus

Rebecca Jackson had been praying for 29 days.

On Wednesday, those prayers were finally answered.

She hovered outside a Beaufort Memorial Hospital room door Wednesday as she waited to see her husband for the first time since he was admitted March 18 and diagnosed with coronavirus.

“We prayed this day would come and it did,” she said through a blue mask as she waited. “It almost didn’t a few times. I’m so grateful to all these people. They are angels on earth. They saved him.”

She wasn’t able to visit husband David, 59, in the hospital.

He was in the intensive care unit for 13 days and on a ventilator for 11.

On Wednesday, Rebecca’s long wait was finally over.

She leaned in quickly for a kiss as she saw the man she married in 2018 for the first time in nearly a month. Their masks — his tie dyed — was the only thing that kept their lips from touching.

“I’ve never had a mask kiss before,” David later joked, his voice still hoarse.

David is one of 205 coronavirus cases confirmed in Beaufort County and 3,656 statewide, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control data.

There have been 8 deaths in the county and 107 in South Carolina since the pandemic began.

DHEC is predicting coronavirus will hit its peak statewide April 30, assuming residents continue social distancing through May.

COVID-19 survivors

A nurse pushed David out of the hospital in a wheelchair as staff lined the hallways holding signs and cheering. The Eagles song “Already Gone” was playing in the background.

Rebecca held his hand as they made their way to the car and home.

David is one of two COVID-19 patients released from Beaufort Memorial Hospital Wednesday. The patients are the first to be discharged after being vented and extubated.

“Today was a really bright spot for all of us as we said farewell to two patients who fought and survived long, tough battles with the COVID-19 virus,” said BMH President and CEO Russell Baxley. “It was an honor to walk alongside all of our staff and providers who cared for them, and especially to celebrate their recoveries and long-awaited reunions with their families.

When he came to the hospital, David was not initially admitted to the ICU. But his condition quickly worsened be he was moved to the unit a day later.

After several days, David needed a ventilator to survive, BMH Dr. Douglas Folzenlogen said Wednesday.

“He came off the ventilator and was somewhat confused as we’re seeing a lot of people are after the ventilator,” Folzenlogen said. “Fortunately, he was one of the lucky ones.”

After being taken off the ventilator, David was transferred to the hospital’s Acute Rehab Unit, where he received therapy, a hospital press release said.

“When I left the ICU, I could not even lift my arms,” David said in the release. “They helped me regain my strength so I could stand and walk again.”

Miracle

As staff held signs that called him a “hero,” David says the hospital workers were the real heroes.

The release id Rebecca prayed for husband while she remained at home.

“God is good,” Rebecca said in the release. “I knew that He would bring us through this if we didn’t lose hope.”

David said he always had faith he would see his wife again.

He said her prayers and the hospital staff worked together to help him survive.

“They saved my life,” he said. “I have all my faculties. A lot of people prayed for me.

“They call me the miracle,” he said.

“The miracle is here. The miracle is all those people.”