LOS ANGELES — A California man infected with the coronavirus was in the hospital for 64 days and had to have most of his fingers removed after suffering severe complications.
Gregg Garfield and about 12 of his friends contracted the virus during a ski trip to Italy, KTLA reported. However, Garfield's case was the most severe.
He was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator for 31 days. During his hospital stay he was treated for complications caused by the coronavirus including MRSA, sepsis, kidney failure, liver failure pulmonary embolisms and burst lungs.
He was released in May.
“I’ve survived this. I’m doing fantastic,” Garfield told KTLA. “However, take heed on this. My hands are never going to be the same. I don’t have fingers anymore. This can happen to you.”
All the fingers on his right hand and most of them on the left were removed because of how the virus impacted his blood flow.
“COVID has effects on the endovascular blood stream, so it actually affects the blood flow,” Garfield’s doctor David Kulber said. “That’s why some young people have had strokes, and that’s why anticoagulation — putting patients on blood thinners — now has been a standard care for COVID patients.”
A GoFundMe account was setup to help Garfield with his medical costs.
Cox Media Group
