"I contracted COVID under uncertain circumstances but suspect it might have been riding the light rail downtown to work daily.
Over a week at the end of March, I developed a sore throat and felt a cold coming on. By the end of the week I complained to my partner (who was out of the country) that I was having trouble breathing. My partner contacted my doctor; my doctor called me and called my partner back to say she was ordering an ambulance to take me to hospital.
I have no memory of the next 3 weeks, during which I was in the ICU at Sinai. I was in a coma, intubated, experiencing worsening renal function and encephalopathy. It was unclear if I could recover and guided with the help of a palliative care nurse practitioner at Sinai, my partner faced some difficult decisions.
A turnaround began in late April and with some additional setbacks, I was finally discharged to Levindale [in May], where I began therapy with Whitney and Chris. At first it was difficult, I was completely deconditioned and was weak, couldn’t walk or even transfer from bed to wheelchair.
Now, 5 weeks later, I am stable and steady with a rolling walker and feeling almost ‘like myself.’ I never considered myself a hard worker, especially with respect to exercise, but Whitney and Chris have been so encouraging and patient (and knowledgeable about what works to move someone forward) that I could not do anything except try my best to improve daily.
“Friday [June 26] I leave Levindale and I am grateful for the expert care I received here from them and the other therapists who were so supportive”