Donnell Hunter.Photo: KOB 4After 549 days, ninedifferent hospitalsand a police escort, Donnell Hunter is finally home for the first time since he contracted COVID-19 in Sept. 2020.Hunter, 43, was able to return to his home in Roswell, New Mexico after a year and a half battle with the virus that had himheavily sedated and on a ventilatorfor most of that first year.“I can’t even put it into words,“he told KOB Newsof what it felt like to be back with his family — wife Ashley; their five kids aged 4, 8, 11, 13 and 14; his two kids aged 21 and 27 and his 1-year-old grandson.Donnell was working as a plant operator at a gas company when he started struggling to breathe. His boss gave him a ride to a hospital in Carlsbad, where he tested positive for COVID-19. Donnell initially went home, but had toreturn to the hospitalwithin 24 hours as he continued to have trouble breathing.“I thought I could just fight it off, but there was no way,“he told CNN.Within hours, he was transferred to a hospital in Albuquerque, and a week later he was intubated and on a ventilator. Donnell had been active prior to his diagnosis, regularly going to the gym and officiating youth football, basketball and volleyball games. But he’s also immunocompromised, and underwent a kidney transplant in 2015 to correct a condition he’s had since age 15.Ashley and the kids struggled with seeing him sedated in the hospital, but she told them it was okay to be sad.“I told them, ‘We’re not crying because anything bad is going to happen. We’re crying because we miss him, and we wish he was here with us,’ " Ashley, 34, told CNN.With Donnell gone for so long, Ashely — who at times had to drive eight hours to see him after he was transferred to a hospital in Arizona — said that she struggled and at one point shut down her emotions to keep going.“We’ve lost a lot of family members, a lot of friends,” she said. “My grandmother died throughout this and [Donnell] is my biggest support. When I didn’t have him, I just was pretty emotionless for a while.“After about a year, Donnell was able to come off the ventilator and begin relearning how to function.“I lost usage of my hands, of my arms — everything — my legs. So, I had to wait for all of that to come back and do a lot of rehab,” he told KOB News. “Speech therapy, learn how to eat, learn how to swallow. I was having to learn everything all over again.“And afterstays at nine different hospitalsand long-term acute care facilities in two different states, Donnell was finally able to come home on Friday. He was met with cheers as he left the hospital, and then a police escort from Albuquerque to their home in Roswell, where the family and a parade of people were there to welcome him back.“I think that just speaks volumes to the person that he is,” Ashley told CNN. “He was truly loved and missed and supported throughout this. We’ve been so blessed to have so much support from the community.“RELATED VIDEO: 29-Year-Old Runner Shares Her Struggle with Long COVID: ‘I’m a Different Person’And he was finally able to meet his 1-year-old grandson."[My grandson] was the first one I saw, and he acted like he’s known me all his life,” Donnell told CNN. “He was reaching for me, giving me a kiss. It was so awesome.“Back at home, though, Donnell needs a ventilator at night while he sleeps and an oxygen tank during the day. He’s also unable to walk on his own, and Ashley is adjusting to being his caretaker since she is a mom to their five kids. She lost her job during the pandemic, and the family is now facing astronomical hospital bills, with the most recent one over $1 million. A family friend hasset up a GoFundMe to help.“I’ll have to really think all the processes through and it’s kind of scary that they just trust me and put his life in my hands,” Ashley said.But they are confident that Donnellwill continue to get better, and he’s overjoyed to be home.“I was like, thank God, when I woke up [at home] and I wasn’t dreaming,” he told KOB News. “It was real. I wasn’t dreaming that I was home. Because when I was in the hospital, I had many dreams that I was already home.“Now, Donnell told CNN, “I don’t take anything for granted, that’s for sure.““I love my family, my kids and my wife more than I love myself. So when I would fight, I would fight for them.”
Donnell Hunter.Photo: KOB 4
After 549 days, ninedifferent hospitalsand a police escort, Donnell Hunter is finally home for the first time since he contracted COVID-19 in Sept. 2020.Hunter, 43, was able to return to his home in Roswell, New Mexico after a year and a half battle with the virus that had himheavily sedated and on a ventilatorfor most of that first year.“I can’t even put it into words,“he told KOB Newsof what it felt like to be back with his family — wife Ashley; their five kids aged 4, 8, 11, 13 and 14; his two kids aged 21 and 27 and his 1-year-old grandson.Donnell was working as a plant operator at a gas company when he started struggling to breathe. His boss gave him a ride to a hospital in Carlsbad, where he tested positive for COVID-19. Donnell initially went home, but had toreturn to the hospitalwithin 24 hours as he continued to have trouble breathing.“I thought I could just fight it off, but there was no way,“he told CNN.Within hours, he was transferred to a hospital in Albuquerque, and a week later he was intubated and on a ventilator. Donnell had been active prior to his diagnosis, regularly going to the gym and officiating youth football, basketball and volleyball games. But he’s also immunocompromised, and underwent a kidney transplant in 2015 to correct a condition he’s had since age 15.Ashley and the kids struggled with seeing him sedated in the hospital, but she told them it was okay to be sad.“I told them, ‘We’re not crying because anything bad is going to happen. We’re crying because we miss him, and we wish he was here with us,’ " Ashley, 34, told CNN.With Donnell gone for so long, Ashely — who at times had to drive eight hours to see him after he was transferred to a hospital in Arizona — said that she struggled and at one point shut down her emotions to keep going.“We’ve lost a lot of family members, a lot of friends,” she said. “My grandmother died throughout this and [Donnell] is my biggest support. When I didn’t have him, I just was pretty emotionless for a while.“After about a year, Donnell was able to come off the ventilator and begin relearning how to function.“I lost usage of my hands, of my arms — everything — my legs. So, I had to wait for all of that to come back and do a lot of rehab,” he told KOB News. “Speech therapy, learn how to eat, learn how to swallow. I was having to learn everything all over again.“And afterstays at nine different hospitalsand long-term acute care facilities in two different states, Donnell was finally able to come home on Friday. He was met with cheers as he left the hospital, and then a police escort from Albuquerque to their home in Roswell, where the family and a parade of people were there to welcome him back.“I think that just speaks volumes to the person that he is,” Ashley told CNN. “He was truly loved and missed and supported throughout this. We’ve been so blessed to have so much support from the community.“RELATED VIDEO: 29-Year-Old Runner Shares Her Struggle with Long COVID: ‘I’m a Different Person’And he was finally able to meet his 1-year-old grandson."[My grandson] was the first one I saw, and he acted like he’s known me all his life,” Donnell told CNN. “He was reaching for me, giving me a kiss. It was so awesome.“Back at home, though, Donnell needs a ventilator at night while he sleeps and an oxygen tank during the day. He’s also unable to walk on his own, and Ashley is adjusting to being his caretaker since she is a mom to their five kids. She lost her job during the pandemic, and the family is now facing astronomical hospital bills, with the most recent one over $1 million. A family friend hasset up a GoFundMe to help.“I’ll have to really think all the processes through and it’s kind of scary that they just trust me and put his life in my hands,” Ashley said.But they are confident that Donnellwill continue to get better, and he’s overjoyed to be home.“I was like, thank God, when I woke up [at home] and I wasn’t dreaming,” he told KOB News. “It was real. I wasn’t dreaming that I was home. Because when I was in the hospital, I had many dreams that I was already home.“Now, Donnell told CNN, “I don’t take anything for granted, that’s for sure.““I love my family, my kids and my wife more than I love myself. So when I would fight, I would fight for them.”
After 549 days, ninedifferent hospitalsand a police escort, Donnell Hunter is finally home for the first time since he contracted COVID-19 in Sept. 2020.
Hunter, 43, was able to return to his home in Roswell, New Mexico after a year and a half battle with the virus that had himheavily sedated and on a ventilatorfor most of that first year.
“I can’t even put it into words,“he told KOB Newsof what it felt like to be back with his family — wife Ashley; their five kids aged 4, 8, 11, 13 and 14; his two kids aged 21 and 27 and his 1-year-old grandson.
Donnell was working as a plant operator at a gas company when he started struggling to breathe. His boss gave him a ride to a hospital in Carlsbad, where he tested positive for COVID-19. Donnell initially went home, but had toreturn to the hospitalwithin 24 hours as he continued to have trouble breathing.
“I thought I could just fight it off, but there was no way,“he told CNN.
Within hours, he was transferred to a hospital in Albuquerque, and a week later he was intubated and on a ventilator. Donnell had been active prior to his diagnosis, regularly going to the gym and officiating youth football, basketball and volleyball games. But he’s also immunocompromised, and underwent a kidney transplant in 2015 to correct a condition he’s had since age 15.
Ashley and the kids struggled with seeing him sedated in the hospital, but she told them it was okay to be sad.
“I told them, ‘We’re not crying because anything bad is going to happen. We’re crying because we miss him, and we wish he was here with us,’ " Ashley, 34, told CNN.
With Donnell gone for so long, Ashely — who at times had to drive eight hours to see him after he was transferred to a hospital in Arizona — said that she struggled and at one point shut down her emotions to keep going.
“We’ve lost a lot of family members, a lot of friends,” she said. “My grandmother died throughout this and [Donnell] is my biggest support. When I didn’t have him, I just was pretty emotionless for a while.”
After about a year, Donnell was able to come off the ventilator and begin relearning how to function.
“I lost usage of my hands, of my arms — everything — my legs. So, I had to wait for all of that to come back and do a lot of rehab,” he told KOB News. “Speech therapy, learn how to eat, learn how to swallow. I was having to learn everything all over again.”
And afterstays at nine different hospitalsand long-term acute care facilities in two different states, Donnell was finally able to come home on Friday. He was met with cheers as he left the hospital, and then a police escort from Albuquerque to their home in Roswell, where the family and a parade of people were there to welcome him back.
“I think that just speaks volumes to the person that he is,” Ashley told CNN. “He was truly loved and missed and supported throughout this. We’ve been so blessed to have so much support from the community.”
RELATED VIDEO: 29-Year-Old Runner Shares Her Struggle with Long COVID: ‘I’m a Different Person’
And he was finally able to meet his 1-year-old grandson.
“[My grandson] was the first one I saw, and he acted like he’s known me all his life,” Donnell told CNN. “He was reaching for me, giving me a kiss. It was so awesome.”
Back at home, though, Donnell needs a ventilator at night while he sleeps and an oxygen tank during the day. He’s also unable to walk on his own, and Ashley is adjusting to being his caretaker since she is a mom to their five kids. She lost her job during the pandemic, and the family is now facing astronomical hospital bills, with the most recent one over $1 million. A family friend hasset up a GoFundMe to help.
“I’ll have to really think all the processes through and it’s kind of scary that they just trust me and put his life in my hands,” Ashley said.
But they are confident that Donnellwill continue to get better, and he’s overjoyed to be home.
“I was like, thank God, when I woke up [at home] and I wasn’t dreaming,” he told KOB News. “It was real. I wasn’t dreaming that I was home. Because when I was in the hospital, I had many dreams that I was already home.”
Now, Donnell told CNN, “I don’t take anything for granted, that’s for sure.”
“I love my family, my kids and my wife more than I love myself. So when I would fight, I would fight for them.”
source: people.com
