Grandmother Beats COVID-19, Pancreatitis, At Huntington Hospital

HUNTINGTON, NY — A grandmother of 11 was surrounded by her family when she returned to Huntington Hospital on Tuesday; six months after she was saved from pancreatitis that nearly claimed her life. Recently, she defeated both pancreatitis and COVID-19, according to a news release from the hospital.

Alisa White, 61, of Wyandanch, was admitted to South Shore University Hospital with severe pancreatitis in January, after surviving a prolonged hospital stay with COVID-19. Doctors say the pancreatitis was a direct result of complications from her bout with the coronavirus.

White was placed in a medically-induced coma and transferred to Huntington Hospital on Jan. 6. When she got there, she was treated with a procedure called a cyst-gastrotomy, in which an endoscope is used to clean out an infection that formed in the pancreas.

White had less than a 50 percent chance of surviving due to the severity of her pancreatitis.

"A cyst-gastrostomy is a procedure where we perform an endoscopy to drain the infection internally without using traditional open surgery or cutting from the outside," said Demetrios Tzimas, MD, director of advanced endoscopy, via news release. "During this procedure we use an endoscope with an ultrasound probe that is placed through the mouth and into the stomach, and then locate and treat the infected pancreas by draining it internally."

Since her initial procedure, White has had seven follow-up endoscopic surgeries to further treat the infection.

"COVID and the pancreatitis took everything from me," White said. "But thanks to Dr. Tzimas and his team, I’ve made a remarkable recovery. I owe my life to him — I wouldn’t be here without him."

White now has most of her mobility restored. She is most looking forward to dining out with her family at one of her favorite restaurants: Texas Roadhouse. The doctors presented her with a gift card to the restaurant. Not to be outdone, her grandchildren presented her with heartfelt, homemade cards.