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| 3/25/21 Toni (from video still) |
After more heartbreaking setbacks, Toni reached
the point last week at which her doctors believed her lungs were strong enough to
be taken off a ventilator permanently. Her sister Fran has been with her daily since
January, sometimes spending 12-hour days at her side. Fran has been Toni’s coach
during the painful, arduous process of being weaned from the mechanical device
that has kept her alive since November when COVID-19 began ravaging her body.
With this huge milestone reached, Toni could finally leave the hospital and move to a rehab facility, where the long journey will begin to heal the rest of her body, including regaining basic skills like standing and walking. Five months of hospitalization will do that.
A few days ago, Fran posted a short video on Facebook of Toni being lifted into the ambulance that would take her to her next phase of recovery. Clutching several stuffed toys, a shiny, star-shaped balloon bobbing behind her, Toni gave her sister a thumb’s up. I knew she was smiling behind her mask. Seeing the video brought me to tears, but this time of joy.
We will not hear many COVID stories as epic as Toni’s; most in her condition would not have survived. Toni has beaten the odds.
Reading this brought me to tears. I am so happy to read this news. After all this time I feel like I know Toni and Fran. What an ordeal they have both been through. I hope the rehab goes well!!! Thanks for the update and the sketch!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading along, Joan! Yes, it's been an incredible ordeal... and it's still not over, but everyone is optimistic about her recovery!
DeleteIt has been a lesson in the wildness of a virus to be aware of the challenges just one person has had to overcome just to get past the hospital doors and onto rehab carrying the after-illnesses caused by COVID-19! Toni and her sister are examples of strength we must admire, it is not an easy road back to recovery, a monumental task! This story fills me with awe, with thankfulness for the determination of Toni and her family! More citizens should know what it takes to 'come through' and at least back to almost normal after CoVid-19; like making a new trail to top of Mt. Rainier: One Step at a Time!!
ReplyDeleteI wish more stories like Toni's would get wider publicity so that people understand what it can be like. We hear so much about the death count, but we need to also hear about what it takes to survive.
DeleteThank you, Tina, for this beautiful post and for the sketch. You certainly captured Toni. She was definitely smiling under her mask. I know you have been on Toni's epic journey with her, with me, with my other sisters. So many have followed her difficult path to healing. I hope it will continue and that she will make a full recovery. Her journey has been full of ups and downs. Big hugs and thank you for what you wrote. Namaste, Fran
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments, Fran! I'm still with Toni all the way to full recovery!
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