By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As Paul Makar was wheeled out on a gurney last week, Wood County Hospital staff lined the hallways, applauding and giving thumbs up to the COVID-19 patient they had treated for 25 days.
His wife, Terry Makar, was able to hug her husband for the first time in nearly a month, and friends from church stood in the parking lot holding signs of support.
Wood County Hospital staff named Makar “our golden child,” after he went through 14 days on a ventilator, strapped to a bed that rotated to help reduce fluid in his lungs.
“It was very terrifying,” Terry Makar said. “To be honest, I didn’t know if he was going to make it.”
While Makar’s release from the hospital was met with great fanfare, his arrival was a much more somber event. Terry Markar remembered bringing her weak and feverish husband to Wood County Hospital on April 4.
“I could not go inside. I waited in the parking lot,” she said. “It was horrible.”
A week prior to Paul’s admission to the hospital, the Makar family had traveled to Buffalo, New York, to visit Paul’s mother who was in hospice care and close to death due to cardio-pulmonary problems. The family members visited her one at a time, and took all the precautions required at the hospital where she was a patient.
When the family arrived home to Perryburg, they noticed symptoms similar to a sinus infection. They consulted their physician and were put on antibiotics.
“We thought we were worn down from the trip,” Terry said.
But soon after, the couple became feverish – with Paul’s quickly spiking at 103 degrees. They were advised to isolate at home if possible. Terry’s fever broke, but she lost her senses of taste and smell. Meanwhile, Paul’s fever lingered.
A week later, he gave in.
“He said, ‘I’m so weak. I can’t take it anymore,’” Terry said of her husband.
She took Paul to Wood County Hospital, where he was put on a ventilator the next day.
“That’s how quickly it went into his lungs,” Terry said of Paul, who is middle-aged, had no underlying medical conditions, and had just passed a physical with flying colors in February.
It turned out that all five family members who went to say good-bye to Paul’s mom in hospice were infected with COVID-19. Most were milder cases. One cousin from Buffalo was briefly on a ventilator, while Paul was hit the hardest.
Because visitors aren’t allowed at Ohio hospitals, Terry relied on hospital staff for updates on her husband. She called the ICU three times a day to check on Paul’s condition.
“They were phenomenal,” she said of the staff.
Paul remained sedated on a ventilator for two weeks.
When the ventilator was removed, and Paul was able to talk, the ICU staff connected the couple for a Facetime call. He was so weak, he was unable to hold the phone himself.
“They held a phone for him. It was very emotional,” Terry said. “That’s when I knew he was going to make it.”
Once off the ventilator, Paul worked with physical therapy and occupational therapy to regain strength. Then last week, he was able to be moved from Wood County Hospital to a rehabilitation facility.
Terry still isn’t allowed to visit her husband. “I can drop things off, but I can’t go in,” she said.
The recovery is slow, since being on a ventilator takes its toll on muscles. But Terry has been told Paul may be able to come home in two to three weeks.
“His hands are coming back,” she said. “He’s very positive. He’s working very hard.”
Terry credited the efforts at Wood County Hospital for her husband’s recovery.
“They were phenomenal,” she said. “They put their heart and soul into it.”
The hospital staff wanted to send their “golden child” off with some fanfare, according to Cristy Walton, vice president of development at Wood County Hospital.
“It’s really nice to celebrate something good in these times,” Walton said. “They really felt the staff had done everything they could to save his life.”
As Terry waits for Paul’s recovery to continue, she is urging others to be cautious about COVID-19, and be diligent about handwashing, mask wearing, and maintaining social distance.
“It caught us totally off-guard,” she said. “You don’t want your family member to go through this.”
Terry also expressed gratitude for all the support from the hospital staff, family and friends.
“There is hope in the world,” she said.
