After hospitalized for five months, critically-ill COVID-19 patients share emotional reunion
The support from one ICU patient inspired another to fight for his life.
Carlos Gonzalez, 34, has spent the past five months hospitalized at Methodist Hospital for COVID-19. Battling the virus’s residual effects, Carlos was on ECMO life-support for over 120 days, one of the longest periods a patient has required a mechanical pump to oxygenate blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest. His condition continued to decline, and his care team believed he may need a lung transplant to survive. Carlos says his motivation to keep fighting for his life was the support of his family and the success of another COVID patient on his same unit who inspired him to never give up.
Amy Velez, 35, was also on ECMO for more than 100 days after COVID-19 nearly took her life. She too was told that lung transplantation may be her only chance at survival, as her lungs had become too frail to function on their own. Amy and Carlos were on the same ICU unit for months, and she never imagined she would leave a lasting impression on a fellow patient while they both fought for their lives. Once Amy had transferred to in-patient rehab, she requested to revisit the ICU unit to share with her care team how far she had come.
She remembers seeing the condition Carlos was still in and felt it in her heart to encourage and pray for him. “You can do this. God’s got your back. I’ll keep praying for you,” she told him. Amy says she prayed for Carlos’s recovery every day since she left Methodist Hospital.
Encouraged by Amy, Carlos knew that he too would make it out of the hospital and back home with his three-year-old son. A few weeks later, Carlos’s health progressed and he was ready to be transferred to in-patient rehab. It was there that Carlos was told he was in the same room that Amy recovered in. The “warrior room” he called it.
On Thursday, July 29, 2021, Carlos received the exciting news that he would be discharged home after five months of hospitalization. Staff lined the hall cheering Carlos on as he independently walked out of his room on his way home. His motivator, Amy, was cheering him on as well. After only three weeks from the day she was discharged, Amy returned to Methodist Hospital to be by Carlos’s side, to support and congratulate him for beating the hardest thing they both would overcome in their lives.