LI Veteran Beats Coronavirus, Discharged From SBU Hospital: Watch

STONY BROOK, NY — A 48-year-old veteran is now on the road to recovery after being placed on a ventilator for seven weeks due to the coronavirus, Stony Brook Medicine announced in a news release. Gary Degrijze, of Bellport, was discharged June 5.

Degrijze was admitted to Stony Brook University Hospital on March 22 after visiting both an urgent care and an outside hospital with no improvement.

"It was getting harder and harder to breathe," he said, according to Stony Brook Medicine.

That night, he was placed on a ventilator.

"It was lights out," he said. "I don't remember anything that happened while I was intubated for about two months."

Jerry Rubano, MD, Trauma/Acute Care/Surgical Critical Care in the Department of Surgery at Stony Brook Medicine, cared for Degrijze the majority of his hospitalization.

"Gary had an exceptionally rocky course," Dr. Rubano said. "He's one of those people who's really not just lucky to be here, but it’s kind of incredible that he's still alive and doing as well as he is after all he’s been through. When he was in the ICU, he lost his pulse at least two times. His ventilator was on salvage mode. His kidneys stopped working for about a month where he was on continuous dialysis and his lungs were probably some of the worst that we've seen. He was as sick as can be."

Rubano and his team were in constant contact with Gary’s family giving them daily updates on his condition.

"I didn't have to wait for them to call," Ana Degrijze said via news release. "I had a nurse calling me every day after the rounds were done. I thought that was so great."

The process was started in Gary’s unit by Stony Brook’s Trauma Program Manager Jane McCormack. She rounded with doctors each day to be able to give families accurate and timely updates daily.

Gary Degrijze sees his wife, Ana, for the first time in over two months. He was admitted into Stony Brook University Hospital on March 22 and discharged on June 5. (Video credit: Stony Brook Medicine)

Following a tracheostomy, Degrijze was able to push through and was taken off the ventilator on May 11. He was decannulated before he left the hospital. Soon after he was taken off the ventilator, he was finally able to see his wife and four children again after two months through FaceTime.

"People started using the technology we take for granted to reconnect families," Rubano said. "It was pretty emotional seeing these reunions, a wife or husband getting to see their loved one after such a long time."

When Degrijze couldn’t see his loved ones in person, he had the support of a team of people at Stony Brook.

"The nursing staff and doctors were like longtime friends," he said. "I can't even begin to explain what it was like to have them by my side."

Degrijze is rehabbing, and he hopes to regain motion in arms lost while on the ventilator. His goal after he recovers is to be able to serve another five years in the Army Reserve and retire after 20 years of service.

"Gary has truly made a remarkable recovery," Rubano said. "His determination and the dedication of the team taking care of him have made all the difference."