I think this story is incredibly important and was really grateful to Michael Mariano and his wife Robin Johnston for sharing their experience with me. As scientists and doctors continue to learn more about the novel coronavirus, it’s become more and more clear that the disease leaves patients, particularly those who are hospitalized, with long-term effects that some have yet to recover from. Even when we get control of the virus and the world goes back to “normal,” physicians say the health care system will still have to find a way to support patients who are dealing with the aftermath.
— Jasmine Demers
Michael Mariano, right, with wife Robin Johnston at their home in Marana. Both were infected with the coronavirus, but while Johnston developed only mild symptoms, Mariano spent two grueling months in the hospital and has yet to fully recover.
After spending two months in the hospital with COVID-19, Michael Mariano wants more than anything for his life to return to normal. But like many patients who develop a severe respiratory illness, his road to recovery is far from over.
People are also reading…
Mariano survived four weeks on a ventilator and two weeks on ECMO — a therapy that adds oxygen to a patient’s blood and pumps it through their body. The 62-year-old said he is left with a body and life that are vastly different from the ones he knew before he contracted the coronavirus.
While the long-term impacts of the novel coronavirus are largely unknown, the effects of extended ICU stays and intubation on severely ill patients are alarmingly clear. In the midst of a pandemic that has affected over 2.7 million people in the United States alone, some medical professionals are now concerned that the health-care system will continue to be overwhelmed by patients who are dealing with the aftermath of the coronavirus.
“It’s important that we highlight and anticipate these long-term problems and put in place policies, systems and infrastructure to take care of these patients long term,” said Dr. Christian Bime, director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Banner–University Medical Center Tucson. “Because COVID-19 has affected so many people at the same time, we will have a lot of survivors who will be needing these services. I anticipate that the health-care system will need to put in place the infrastructure to take care of the survivors.”
Contact reporter Jasmine Demers at jdemers@tucson.com
On Twitter: @JasmineADemers
Jasmine Demers
Reporter
