Holmdel Doctor Hospitalized With Coronavirus Fights For Life

HOLMDEL, NJ — This Holmdel family simply does not need another tragedy: In 2017, the couple, both physicians, lost their third and youngest child just a few months before she turned three years old.

The little girl, Vienna Savino, died unexpectedly and for no confirmed medical reason; she stopped breathing while it appeared she fell asleep one night watching TV. Vienna's death was classified as sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC). To this day, her parents search for what exactly caused her to die.

And now that little girl's father has been hospitalized with COVID-19.

The couple is Dr. Denise Wunderler, 47, and her husband, Dr. Michael Savino, 48. Wunderler practices sports medicine and Savino is a highly-trained emergency medicine doctor, who treated soldiers injured in combat during the Iraq war. They live in Holmdel with their two other children, both grade-school aged.

Two weeks ago, Dr. Savino started feeling ill.

"We did everything we could do at home for 12 days before his chest was so tight and his breathing so labored that it was time to go to the emergency department," Wunderler posted on Facebook. "I didn't think he would make it through the night if he stayed at home. Knowing about the shortages of everything right now, he was trying his best to stay out of the hospital."

Her husband was admitted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was given high amounts of oxygen, said Wunderler. Since being admitted, he's been experiencing "unrelenting fevers," chest pain, a cough, shortness of breath and extreme fatigue, she posted on Facebook.

Her husband has also been posting about his experience on his own Facebook page.

Dr. Savino is a war hero: He was a major in the U.S. Army, and served on active duty in Iraq in 2010. He worked as an emergency medicine physician and was deployed to a combat-support hospital outside of Baghdad. There, he treated hundreds of U.S. soldiers, including those who had been injured by roadside bombs. He was the recipient of a Meritorious Service Medal while deployed, according to his wife.

"Our oldest daughter was only 17 days old when he had to leave for Iraq," Wunderler recalled, speaking to Patch. "I still remember Mike holding our oldest daughter in his arms for the last time before I drove him to the airport to get on a plane for Iraq."

Every day now has been a struggle. Wunderler has been publicly asking for prayers on Facebook. She has been posting all this from their Holmdel home, as she cannot be with her husband in the hospital due to contagion concerns.

"The fact that my healthy daughter Vienna died at 2.8 years old of no explanation (SUDC- Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood) in November 2017, and then my 54-year-old sister Carol died of urothelial carcinoma stage IV in November 2019, a third tragedy in our family within the last 2.5 years would be unfathomable," wrote Wunderler. "I never wanted to teach my kids about death at such an early age, but I had no choice. Answering their questions about death (especially of their little sister) is one of the most challenging things these days, and now this."

However, there may be a glimmer of light for this family: As of Wednesday, Dr. Savino remains on high-flow oxygen, but it has been decreasing over the past few days, albeit slowly.

According to his wife, he has been taking the antibiotic azithromycin and he’s currently receiving the anti-malarial Plaquenil with vitamin C and zinc, all of which have had success treating COVID-19.

"He is high-flow oxygen right now, hopefully no ventilator, but you never know from day to day," said Wunderler. "Knowing one of my medical school classmates has a physician sister and a physician dad who are both on vents right now, plus a sickly physician mom who is trying to handle all her COVID symptoms on her own at home ..."

"I pray and hope all of our family members improve and return back to being the amazing physicians they are. They are all heroes," she said.

Please read Vienna Savino's story here: Holmdel Family Raises Awareness Of SUDC After Toddler Girl Dies

Learn more about Team Vienna and Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood: https://teamviennasudc.org/