COVID-19 survivor reunited with family after being intubated for 44 days

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - After spending nearly two months in the hospital and 44 days on a ventilator fighting COVID-19, 61-year-old Danny Dean was released from the hospital and reunited with his family.

"The Holy Spirit wrapped himself around me, and we travailed the storm together,” said Dean. “And it was quite a storm. I am not supposed to be here but [God] saw different and He was with me every step of the way.”

Dean was released from Baptist Medical Center South Saturday afternoon. He was greeted by family and friends who had not seen him since he was admitted to the hospital on April 7.

“It is a miracle that he is here with us,” said Patty Dean, Danny’s wife of nearly 42 years. “He was a very, very sick man when he entered the hospital on April 7. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s going to get there. Our God heals and He heals completely.”

“God is good. God is real. I am here to tell you heaven and earth is real. It was quite a ride to say the least,” said Dean.

According to family members, Dean spent weeks in intensive care and coded four times. They were unsure if he would overcome this virus.

“There was days where there was hope and there was days where there wasn’t much hope,” said Danny’s son, Daniel Dean. “But, to see him be wheeled out of the hospital, come home to all of his friends and family, and to see a smile on his face has just been an absolute amazing day.”

The Dean family says Danny would not be where he is today without relentless prayer and the tremendous care of the nurses and doctors at Baptist South.

“I can’t say enough about Baptist South Hospital,” Dean said. “The surgeons, the nurses, the support staff, they were just outstanding. I don’t know where you can get any better care anywhere in the United States.”

“They were our lifeline,” Dean said. “If we needed something we called them, they answered the phone, they told us. There is no words to say thank you to the staff that took care of my husband.”

Bailey Bailey was one of Danny’s Registered Nurses in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Baptist South that helped treat him. She came to the hospital on her off day to see Dean be released from the hospital.

“We’ve been there with him in the low points. With COVID you’ll make so much progression and then one day you just fall back again and it can be really discouraging for us and for the family,” said Bailey. “So, it’s just amazing to be able to see him overcome this and be able to go home with his family.”

Bailey said Mrs. Dean and the hospital staff would schedule regular calls to check up on Danny.

“Even when her husband was going through this horrible time, which I am sure she never thought would happen, she would sit there and thank me over the phone and that was just so selfless of her,” Bailey said.

According to the Dean family, Danny has tested negative for COVID-19. His wife Patty says now home health will make regular visits to their home for treatment and Danny will go through extensive rehab to regain his strength.

On June 6, 2020 numbers from Baptist Health showed that they are currently treating 127 COVID-19 patients across their three campuses. This is their highest number of inpatients since the beginning of the pandemic.

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