A New Mexico man was discharged more than a year after he was hospitalized with COVID-19.
According to KOB4, Donnell Hunter, was finally able to go home to his family on Friday after spending 550 days in the hospital with COVID.
Hunter was hospitalized in September 2020 and placed on a ventilator for much of the first 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 network.
Hunter’s hometown gave him a hero’s welcome on Friday complete with a police escort.
“I can’t even put it into words,” he said about his return home. “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.”
His wife, Ashley says though he has come a long way, there’s still a long road ahead.
“I tell him it’s like having a newborn because like his first steps were just a milestone,” Ashley said. “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,” she added.
