It was an emotional day for a man in San Francisco who was released after being hospitalized for 60 days battling COVID-19 -- the longest coronavirus patient stay at UCSF.
Ron Temko came out to see family members waving signs, eager to greet him. He was admitted for the virus back in March and had an incredibly hard fight to make it to this day.
“I thank everyone for everything they’ve done,” Ron said. “I'm happy to be alive and looking forward to my second life, it is a second life.”
The 69-year-old was placed on a ventilator and in a coma for 40 days.
His wife was by his side Wednesday, they just marked their 40 year anniversary.
“I kept that in my mind that he had the will to live and he wasn’t ready to go and he was going to come home,” said his wife Linda Temko.
In the excitement, some of the rules of the new normal went by the wayside as the crowd gathered. His story touched so many, the family shared photos of the hospital stay and how they were able to keep in touch.
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“The staff was wonderful, they set up Zoom meetings for us every day we were able to facetime with them,” said Ron’s daughter Perri Garner.
And today he headed home looking at the road ahead.
“For Ron, the mainstay of his care is going to be physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition and just getting his spirits up and being with his family,” said Dr. Sajan Patel.
“I’m just one in a million and it can happen, it happened,” Ron said.
