DAVENPORT, Iowa – Friends and family celebrated with an emotional drive-by for Randy Burke, a Davenport, Iowa, man who is finally home after 163 days of battling the coronavirus.
Randy was in hospitals and a rehab center fighting COVID-19 and bilateral pneumonia.
His wife says his symptoms were severe.
“Before he went into the hospital he didn’t feel good, had body aches, and just wanted to sleep. Then the next day he went from that to, ‘Oh no I can’t do this. I feel like I have knives in my head,’” says his wife Kathy.
Randy was in the ICU for fifteen weeks, then another five weeks at a rehab center, and four more at Genesis West.
Now he’s home with his family just in time for the holidays.
“I can’t believe it. It’s the most exciting and yet scariest thing I’ve done in the last 163 days. Thrilling to be with the wife and kids again. I am just ecstatic. It’s very special, heartwarming, very emotional,” says Randy.
The Burke family says the health care workers who took care of him are now like family.
“Those nurses and doctors are heroes, wonderful, they really are,” says Abbey Burke, Randy’s daughter.
“All the nurses and doctors were just simply incredible. They took such good care of me, it was unbelievable,” Randy says.
Randy still has a long road to recovery ahead, but finally, after 163 days he’s home.
Randy says this holiday season will be memorable.
“This is the greatest Christmas that we will ever have that’s for sure.”