A South Carolina man is recovering from the effects of COVID-19 after spending more than two months in the hospital. Don Gillmer, of Maudlin, tested positive for COVID-19 on July 5. By July 9, he said, he had a cough. "I didn’t sleep that night," he said. "(I) woke up early the next morning, packed a bag and knew it was time to go to the hospital.At 43 years old, Gillmer had never been to the hospital. Yet, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital would be his home for the next 63 days. "I received convalescent plasma twice, remdesivir, nothing was working," he said. "Nothing was helping me recover, so I’ll never really forget when they came in with papers. I needed to sign to go on a ventilator. That scared me."About a month later, his temperature was 104 degrees.Gillmer was put in a medically-induced coma. The doctor later called his wife Lacy."If he makes it through tonight it’ll be good, but we really just don’t know that he will," she recalled from the doctor. So, she and Don's dad went to see Gillmer. "I just told him that he was doing great, that they were taking such good care of him. He was in amazing hands," she recalled. "And I swear I heard her voice, and by the time she left, I was stable," Gillmer said. "She’s my angel. She’s the reason I’m here." Related video: COVID-19 survivor using experience to help othersBut there was still a long road ahead. "I had a (tracheostomy) that they put in to help, so I couldn’t talk," said Gillmer. "The left side of my body wasn’t really functioning. So I wondered, what is going on?" Gillmer endured weeks of physical training. He credits the hospital staff with success in his recovery, including his main therapist, Bob. "(The therapy) just had that human touch," he said. Gillmer had to relearn how to walk. He was discharged on Sept. 11. But there are still challenges. He said he has a condition called wrist drop in his left hand, where he can't feel his fingers.He still goes to therapy two times each week. It's hard, he said, but he wouldn't get through it without Lacy. "I think about her drive to the hospital the night they told her that I may not make it. I can’t imagine that, so I tell her often I don’t know that I could have been as strong as her."Gillmer said people should be taking COVID-19 seriously. "We need to be smart and diligent and take care of each other. It’s about your fellow man," he said. Gillmer returned for his first day back to work Monday. He's also been a drummer for more than 30 years and is working to get back to the way he used to play the drums.
A South Carolina man is recovering from the effects of COVID-19 after spending more than two months in the hospital.
Don Gillmer, of Maudlin, tested positive for COVID-19 on July 5. By July 9, he said, he had a cough.
"I didn’t sleep that night," he said. "(I) woke up early the next morning, packed a bag and knew it was time to go to the hospital.
At 43 years old, Gillmer had never been to the hospital.
Yet, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital would be his home for the next 63 days.
"I received convalescent plasma twice, remdesivir, nothing was working," he said. "Nothing was helping me recover, so I’ll never really forget when they came in with papers. I needed to sign to go on a ventilator. That scared me."
About a month later, his temperature was 104 degrees.
Gillmer was put in a medically-induced coma.
The doctor later called his wife Lacy.
"If he makes it through tonight it’ll be good, but we really just don’t know that he will," she recalled from the doctor.
So, she and Don's dad went to see Gillmer.
"I just told him that he was doing great, that they were taking such good care of him. He was in amazing hands," she recalled.
"And I swear I heard her voice, and by the time she left, I was stable," Gillmer said. "She’s my angel. She’s the reason I’m here."
Related video: COVID-19 survivor using experience to help others
But there was still a long road ahead.
"I had a (tracheostomy) that they put in to help, so I couldn’t talk," said Gillmer. "The left side of my body wasn’t really functioning. So I wondered, what is going on?"
Gillmer endured weeks of physical training. He credits the hospital staff with success in his recovery, including his main therapist, Bob.
"(The therapy) just had that human touch," he said.
Gillmer had to relearn how to walk.
He was discharged on Sept. 11.
But there are still challenges. He said he has a condition called wrist drop in his left hand, where he can't feel his fingers.
He still goes to therapy two times each week. It's hard, he said, but he wouldn't get through it without Lacy.
"I think about her drive to the hospital the night they told her that I may not make it. I can’t imagine that, so I tell her often I don’t know that I could have been as strong as her."
Gillmer said people should be taking COVID-19 seriously.
"We need to be smart and diligent and take care of each other. It’s about your fellow man," he said.
Gillmer returned for his first day back to work Monday. He's also been a drummer for more than 30 years and is working to get back to the way he used to play the drums.
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