CLEVELAND — It's been weeks since one coronavirus patient checked out of the hospital and returned home, but he hasn't forgotten about the hospital staff and what they did for him.
“I’m here today to show my gratitude to the team that saved my life,” says Larry Davis.
Davis spent 24 days battling COVID-19 at University Hospitals. Some of the time was spent in the ICU and some of it, he doesn’t even remember.
“I never knew that I had a tube down my throat. I never knew that I had a nasogastric tube feeding me. I was unaware that they were fighting for my life,” says Davis.
“He was really sick and I let him know that we would let him know when it was time for us to further our medical interventions for him,” says UH registered nurse, Jill Dickey. “Thank goodness he doesn’t remember anything.”
However, what he does remember is that he wouldn’t have beaten this virus on his own. As a way to give back, he decided to bring pounds of chocolate to the team of doctors and nurses that he says are the only reason he’s still here today.
“If you can pass on my thanks and gratitude to your colleagues, I would certainly appreciate it,” Davis said to the staff that greeted him at the entrance. “From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all.”
Dickey says, “It’s amazing. He was our first ICU COVID patient, pretty incredible that he’s here, amazing.”
As Larry moves on with his life and his bout with the coronavirus becomes just a distant memory, he says the one thing he’ll take with him is the feeling he’s getting extra time.
“I have pledged to these people here at this hospital that I will not squander the opportunity that they have given me,” says Davis. “To continue living and to do good stuff for as many people as I can.”