A COVID patient who had been in North Texas hospitals since early August was discharged this weekend, and his motorcycle club met outside to escort him home. Parry Allen was transferred among four hospitals and spent 45 days in a coma.
He spent parts of that time on a ventilator and had to learn how to eat, walk and breathe on his own again.
"As long as you have family with you, you can do it, the support of a good family," Allen says.
Allen spent the last two weeks of his hospitalization at Medical City Arlington. When he was transferred there, he says he could not stand up. When he was discharged, he says he was able to walk on his own.
"It's awesome. From now until the day I die, I can't say, 'thank you' enough," he says. "I'm not there yet, but I'm going to get there. It's going to take some time."
Allen says he will continue rehabilitation at home.
"Sometimes, it's the most rewarding part of the job to have somebody who's been in and out of a critically-ill health position and be able to make that final step home," says Medical City Arlington Physical Therapy Doctor Chase Smith. "Just being a part of that final process of putting the last pieces together and getting them out the door is why I enjoy being a rehab doctor here."
The Department of State Health Services says hospitals in North Texas had 831 COVID patients Saturday using 5.26% of beds. Across Texas, hospitals had a total of 2,939 COVID patients, up from 2,610 November 20 but down from a peak of 13,932 August 25.
DSHS says 59.6% of Texans five and older are fully vaccinated, including 58.8% in Dallas County, 56.6% in Tarrant, 66.9% in Collin and 61.4% in Denton County.
Allen is a retired nurse and Army veteran. His motorcycle club met him and his wife outside Medical City Arlington and escorted him home.
"It's where I belong. It's where I'm going to do most of my recovery, at home around my family. We're looking forward to it," he says. "It's been a long, long journey."
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