LI COVID Survivor Credits Prayers For Survival During 'Dark Time'

Just before the doors, granddaughter Hailey was taken from his arms and he was able to stand with the help of a walker as a crowd of friends and supporters greeted him to rousing applause. The first thing the Roman Catholic did was place his hands to his lips, kiss his fingers and then raise them to the sky in thanks.

"St. Jude," called out Heaton, thanking the patron saint of lost causes — St. Jude Thaddeus — who is often credited by followers for helping people out of seemingly impossible situations.
Others in the crowd responded, praising his recovery.

Heaton, as he continued to walk, told his friends, "I'll see you at the beach."

At a brief news conference, Heaton and his family described his recovery as nothing short of miraculous, and they thanked friends and supporters for their prayers.

"All our friends and family for praying and never giving up, thank you so much," said Connie Heaton, his wife of 35 years.

Heaton remembered a point when he was so weak that he could not even lift his pinky finger and that his weight was down to 100 pounds.

Heaton continued to urge supporters to not stop praying and to add the people of Ukraine to their daily prayers.

"Never give up on the power of God and prayer," he added. "The doctors are perplexed as to how I am alive."

Heaton says he was given last rites, a ceremony administered by a priest to followers of his faith who are about to die.

His family consulted with hospice staff, but they were informed that "nothing could be done," said Heaton, adding that "with my family and prayer, I made it through."

"Please, if you are sick, never give up," Heaton said. "Where there is hope, there is life. Where there is life, there is hope."

The former Suffolk County corrections officer also credited his fellow officers for their support during his recovery.

"They stood by me like a rock," he said, referring to his co-workers as his "brothers."

Heaton, a Medford resident, was about to retire after 25 years as a corrections officer at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead, but two weeks before his retirement date, he was diagnosed with "a severe case of COVID-19," the Suffolk sheriff's office said.

Heaton was sent to Stony Brook University Hospital for complications associated with the virus — including pneumonia, deep-vein thrombosis in both of his legs, and a pulmonary embolism — and his kidneys had shut down, signaling he required dialysis treatment on Sept .26.

From there, Heaton was placed in a medically induced coma, and his family was told three times to gather at his bedside to say their goodbyes. But he fought back each time.

"We were told multiple times to come and say our goodbyes," said his daughter Julie. "They told us there was nothing else they could do, and my family even accepted it. We thought that we just wanted him to be at peace."

It was the hardest thing they ever had to do, she said.

As Heaton made his way back, it wasn't an easy recovery.

He needed a tracheotomy on Nov. 11; and when his kidneys were not functioning, again, he couldn’t move his legs and arms. Yet he kept progressing, slowly but surely.

"He was a really nice guy, first and foremost," said Heaton's occupational therapist, Laura Vaughn. "You could tell he wanted to work hard. He was eager to get back, especially to see that baby."

His physical therapist, Bill Cunningham, said Heaton was always so motivated.

"He always had such a strong faith that he was going to get better," he added.

Heaton began to get his movement back and was discharged from Stony Brook and brought to St. Charles Hospital’s inpatient rehabilitation unit on Feb. 11. At the time, he could not walk 5 feet and had to relearn physical and occupational tasks again.

He can now walk over 100 feet without an oxygen machine.

In hindsight, Heaton said that he would have gotten vaccinated if he knew what lay before him.

"I would have gotten vaccinated because it was a very rough ride; I would get vaccinated," he said. "But, everyone, I believe should have their own choice and let them decide."

He said the virus just hit him "out of left field" and he had never been sick before.

"I would have taken the chance — if people think it's a chance — for what I went through. I was in a pretty dark room for a while, and I saw that light and inched forward and I am with my family."

His daughter Nicole said the birth of her daughter, Hailey — Heaton's first grandchild — in October helped the family through their dark time.

"She gave my dad a big purpose and a big motive to help him get better, too," she said, adding, her daughter was "just a joy and her life is a gift." "And now my dad can enjoy being a grandpa."

Cunningham said Heaton's story will not soon be forgotten by the staff.

"At St. Charles, we have a lot of good stories," he said, "but this is one that [they] will always remember."