there are three hundred sixty-eight
thousand cases of kovat 19 in america
and the most serious of those cases will
require a ventilator to breathe for them
while their damaged lungs recover it is
both a life-changing as well as a
life-saving experience Jim Murray spoke
with one kovat 19 survivor Nick Brown
thought he was suffering from the flu
until he checked into the Cleveland
Clinic the doctor came in he said hey
I've got some bad news you've tested
positive for covin 19 and it was
actually very shortly after that that I
started to lose lung function and they
intubated me life was about to get even
worse for the 38 year old dad I was
actually in a medically induced coma for
three days and then during that a
process they put me on a ventilator
where I spent seven additional days
Brown was fighting for his life and like
many patients stretching with kovat 19
he was being kept alive with a
ventilator what did it physically feel
like it's a very large grouping of tubes
that goes down your throat and you know
in the beginning it wasn't horrible
feeling but as we progress the the tube
kind of got scratchy on the back of my
throat and just really irritated my
throat we were able to communicate in
some way with the ventilator in I could
make facial expressions which they were
pretty good about understanding what I
was going through just looking at me
doctor Zeke Emanuel spoke with our
Steven Fabian what is that sensation
like for the patient being put on a
ventilator horrible you've got a tube
stuck in your throat and many patients
are basically knocked out because of the
uncomfortable feeling and the kovat
patients in particular working very hard
to breathe
the hardest part may be just beginning
for survivors who've been weaned off
ventilators many of the thousands of
Kovan 19 patients who've been placed on
ventilators can experience
post-traumatic stress disorder even a
year after leaving the ICU Nick Brown
says he vividly remembers when he was
finally able to breathe on his own it
was very moving I cried he was so
touched he asked a nurse to write this
note of gratitude to the ICU staff who
saved his life
I want you to know that I think you all
are rockstars
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you
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