DENVER, Colo. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – For those who have recovered from COVID-19, the path can be a long one. The more time spent in the ICU and on a ventilator, the harder and longer it will be to get back to normal or get to a new normal.
From brain fog to fatigue and having trouble breathing, the symptoms can vary.
“It was like the flu on steroids,” shared COVID-19 survivor Clarence Troutman. “I could not draw in any air whatsoever.”
Living a month on a ventilator, Clarence Troutman is now COVID-free, but he knows surviving the disease was just the beginning.
“It was almost in some ways like being a newborn baby,” Troutman described.
“There’s a lot of retraining, strengthening, and a whole process to get people back to living their lives,” explained William Niehaus, MD, who specializes in physical medicine & rehabilitation at University of Colorado Hospital.
“It just, really took a lot of intensive rehab,” added Kat Aksamit, PT, DPT, NCS, a physical therapist at University of Colorado Hospital.
Doctors found that many patients need a team of therapists to relearn how to walk, talk, and even problem solve, as the disease attacks every organ from the lungs to the heart to the brain.
“Being on a ventilator for an extended period of time causes muscle wasting, it affects multiple organ systems,” expounded Dr. Niehaus.
A recent study showed a majority of survivors had inflammation in the heart which can lead to cardiac disease and heart failure. Strokes are also a growing concern.
“We’re seeing a lot of neurologic damage with people that have had COVID disease and a lot of blood clots,” elaborated Dr. Niehaus.
University of Colorado Hospital was one of the first facilities to begin actively rehabbing patients that are still COVID positive. Clarence started his rehab just three days after being off the ventilator.
“We had to kind of bring everything back a step at a time,” recalled Troutman.
Five months later, “things are coming around slowly but surely,” Troutman concluded.
Hospitals around the country are revamping their rehab procedures … evaluating patients daily, revising how much rehab patients can handle. Some hospitals are using biocontainment units to keep patients from spreading contaminated air.
Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Executive Producer; Marsha Lewis, Field Producer; Rusty Reed, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.