Nine days on a ventilator. 24 days total at the hospital. But today, 74-year-old Lebanon man Julian Montanez is at home.
Montanez was admitted to WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital on March 24, according to a news release by the hospital, following a positive test for COVID-19. By March 26 he was intubated and placed on the ventilator.
A fight for survival followed. The experience made him feel “like I didn’t have any life left,” Montanez told the hospital, which got permission to share his story with the community.
According to the release, Montanez fended off a variety of symptoms, needing two different medications to keep his blood pressure up and facing kidney failure.
“Staff never gave up, working tirelessly to regulate his medications and ventilator settings,” noted the hospital when it shared footage of Montanez’s departure, a celebration joined by the doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, interpreters, and other personnel helping treat COVID-19 patients at Good Sam.
Read More: Daily heroism of frontline healthcare workers more apparent than ever
“It’s like an emotional rollercoaster,” said Lauryn Yoder, an intermediate care unit nurse, in the release. Colleague Becca Stoll echoed her words: “I get very choked up. It’s just really cool to see he is doing so much better and is able to go back home.”
We bet you’ll feel the same after watching the video above.
Read all of LebTown’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Is there a story you think LebTown should report? Let our newsroom know using the form below.
Help us provide journalism Lebanon County needs.
If you are thankful for LebTown, consider joining as a member. Members get an inside look at our publishing schedule each week, plus invites to a members-only Facebook group and happy hours.
Learn more and join now here.
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates each weekday at 3 p.m.
Full Disclosure: WellSpan Health is an advertiser on LebTown at present. LebTown does not make editorial decisions based on advertising relationships and advertisers do not receive special editorial treatment. Learn more about advertising with LebTown here.
This post was updated to correct a typo in the number of days on the ventilator.