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Coronavirus: Long-hauler patient goes home after 158 days in Colorado hospital

DENVER — A father sick with COVID-19 is finally home after spending more than five months in a Denver hospital.

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Nate McWilliams was admitted to Swedish Medical Center with COVID-19 on June 27, KMGH reported. Neither McWilliams nor his wife was vaccinated.

During McWilliams’ 158 days at the hospital, he was in the intensive care unit for some, unable to breathe and on an ECMO machine in what was described as a “last-ditch” effort to keep him alive, KUSA reported. An ECMO machine is considered “life support,” doing the work of lungs when a person’s organs are failing. While the average COVID-19 patient uses an ECMO machine for close to 14 days, McWilliams remained on one for 91 days, KUSA reported.

Photos shared to Facebook show doctors and nurses lining the hallway when McWilliams was finally well enough to be discharged from the hospital.

Nate McWilliams spent 158 days in the hospital with #COVID19. Today the Swedish Medical Center staff cheered him on as...

Posted by Photojournalist Mark Neitro on Thursday, December 2, 2021

McWilliams told KCNC he was excited to cook ribs and spend time with his family.

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