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NOTE: The following information was published May 18, 2020. For current COVID-19 information, visit LVHN.org/COVID-19.
Emotions ran high for the family of Gervacio Paulino, and those who cared for him when they learned he would be going home after spending almost a month and a half at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Hazleton with COVID-19.
Paulino, who lives in West Hazleton with his wife, Ana, was sick with a cough for two weeks prior to being hospitalized and discovering he tested positive for COVID-19. He was placed on a ventilator with numerous complications. Meanwhile, his family not knowing if he was going to pull through.
Twenty-one days later, Paulino was extubated, but extremely debilitated. Transferred to another floor, he slowly continued to improve both medically and functionally. Goals for him to return home to his family were in place and his transfer to the Gunderson Inpatient and Rehabilitation Center on the sixth floor was necessary to reach them.
Two weeks later it was time to reunite with his family who were unable to see him for over 40 days. Colleagues from the many departments who managed his recovery at LVH–Hazleton wanted to make sure he had a memorable discharge and wish him well. As he came off the elevator, he was greeted by a sea of smiling faces each holding a white daisy. A total of 40 for each day he spent with them. Daisies symbolize an award a nurse receives from the DAISY Foundation who is deemed exceptional by his or her patients.
At the end of the reception line was his wife, Ana, who waited, what seemed a lifetime, to be with her beloved husband. Watch the video of their emotional reunion on Facebook.