When David Riffle began feeling tightness in his chest, he thought it was due to his asthma.  He had forgotten his inhaler while working and believed the symptoms would pass once he was home.  Although he had been experiencing a cough prior to the attack, he never considered the possibility that he had contracted COVID-19.  At the time, the disease was just starting to spread in Ohio and Licking County had reported only a few cases.  As his symptoms worsened, David began struggling for breath.  When his rescue inhaler did nothing to open his airways, he tried a breathing treatment.  Finally, his wife, Christy, had to call Emergency Medical Services.  David was rushed to Licking Memorial Hospital (LMH) for immediate care.  “I remember being taken into a room, closing my eyes and thinking I was dying,” said David.  “The next thing I remember was waking up many days later with tubes and wires everywhere.”  

LMH staff members determined he was experiencing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to the coronavirus.  He was placed on a ventilator for more than two weeks.  The shortness of breath and other symptoms were a result of COVID-19 pneumonia which caused the air sacs in both of his lungs to fill with fluid and limited his ability to take in oxygen.  As the COVID-19 pneumonia progressed, more of the air sacs became filled with fluid that leaked from the blood vessels in the lungs and caused ARDS, a form of lung failure.  At the time of David’s admittance, information on COVID-19 was limited because the disease was caused by a novel coronavirus.  Treatment options had not yet been identified and different medications were proposed to try to treat the disease.  None of the medications or treatments seemed to make a difference once a patient experienced ARDS.  Healthcare professionals were concerned that many patients placed on ventilators quickly deteriorated and did not survive.  The staff at LMH, including Phillip G. Savage, D.O., and Bassam Kret, M.D., continually researched the virus and treatments.  They administered steroids and other antibiotics to prompt David’s recovery.

Due to safety precautions to limit the transmission of COVID-19, visitation to LMH had been restricted with no visitors allowed in the designated COVID-19 unit.  David remained unconscious while on the ventilator for 13 days.  The nursing staff, including Brittani Hunt, B.S.N., called and spoke with Christy every day, keeping her informed and comforting her.  To create a more personal connection, Brittani began to video call Christy as well.  “I get emotional thinking about the time I spent on the COVID ward,” David said.  “Brittani became a very important part of our family, first connecting with my wife, then caring for and helping me.”  When David regained consciousness, he was startled and pulled at the tubes.  Brittani calmed him down and explained what had happened to him.  The entire staff celebrated as the ventilator was removed.  The nursing staff continued the daily conferences with Christy for the remainder of David’s hospitalization which lasted over 30 days.

As David gained strength, he was concerned about his future.  “I asked the pulmonologist, Asegid H. Kebede, M.D., if he thought I would be able to return to work.  Based on the images of my lungs, he was not convinced I would be able to work again,” David remembered.  Computerized tomography (CT) scans revealed fibroid-like features that could indicate potentially permanent damage, such as honeycombing patterns and parenchymal bands – thick, long lines that appear as shadows on X-rays.  These features have been common in those who suffered COVID-19 pneumonia.  David’s lungs also became very stiff, which is another side effect from the disease.  When David was strong enough, he was transferred to a rehabilitation facility where he had to relearn many daily skills, including how to walk.  During his rehabilitation, Dr. Kebede informed David his lungs were healing much better than anticipated, and he would be able to return to work after all.

After 10 days of rehabilitation, David returned home to his family.  David is a longtime resident of Licking County, having moved to Hanover as a child with his mother and three siblings.  He and Christy married in 2000, and have since adopted four children, Ashlee, Lilly, Payton and David, through a foster-to-adopt program.  “Having COVID-19 was a life-changing experience.  My children were so frightened and upset that they could not visit me while I was ill,” David shared.  “They were very concerned about me returning to my job at Amazon because they worried I would get sick again.”  The family has been extremely careful to wear masks, wash their hands and practice social distancing to safeguard everyone’s health.  David’s in-laws assisted the family in finding a new single-story house so that David would not have to struggle to go up and down stairs during his recovery.  

LMH staff members continue to check on David and his family.  “The entire staff was amazing and so caring.  I am blessed to have been cared for by such dedicated professionals.”  Recently, David’s blood was tested to see if he still had the antibodies produced by his immune system to fight the virus.  Nearly a year after his ordeal, the antibodies are still present in David’s blood; however, his primary care physician and pulmonologist suggested he receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which David has since obtained.  Much more is known about the virus, and LMH now has several treatment options for patients with severe symptoms from COVID-19.  Several vaccines also have been approved for emergency use to assist in stopping the spread of COVID-19.  For more information on the vaccines, COVID-19 and LMH policies, please visit LMHealth.org.