ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta father is back home with his wife and children after COVID-19 nearly brought him to his deathbed.
Corey Sexton's case was so severe, his family didn't know if he would make it.
Channel 2′s Lauren Pozen talked to Sexton and his family about his miraculous recovery.
In March, Corey said he got what he thought was a sinus headache, which escalated into a high fever and dizziness.
“(I said), ‘If I’m not feeling better tomorrow, we are going to go to the emergency room,’” Corey said. “And sh(my wife) said, ‘No, we are going now.’”
Corey's wife April took him to Wellstar Paulding, where he was admitted. Doctors ran tests and waited for Corey's fever to go down, but it never did. He was diagnosed with COVID-19.
RELATED STORIES:
- Emory researchers locate antibodies that could neutralize COVID-19
- As metro Atlanta districts end school year, CDC releases guidelines for reopening
- Metro Atlanta woman who lived through last pandemic celebrates 105th birthday
For the next 24 days, he was sedated.
“After the ventilated him that first day, I started understanding the gravity of the whole situation,” April said.
Around April 12, April got a call from one of Corey's nurses, Alex Vatzakas. He told April she had a difficult choice to make: Either go for a tracheotomy or just pull the plug.
“We had to say, 'Mrs. Sexton, we feel we are at a safe place where we can go for the tracheotomy. This is his only hope for rehabilitation,” Vatzakas said.
April said the other option was unthinkable.
“She said the only other option was to pull the cord. We just pull all these plugs and let him go, or you could chose to trache him and just keep going,” April said. “And I said, ‘Well, that is what we want to do.’”
At the end of April, there was finally a sign of hope. On his later mother’s birthday, Corey woke up. The nurses let him Facetime with April and he then began days of physical therapy.
Just last week, doctors gave Corey the green light to go home.
Corey said the takeaway from his journey is this:
"Be closer to God. He could have let me come home, his home, but he brought me back to my family.”
Corey continues to make great strides in his recovery. He finally has his sense of taste back so he can enjoy his wife’s home-cooking once again.
© 2020 Cox Media Group
