What this leading Fall River doctor learned from being hospitalized with COVID
FALL RIVER — A leading local doctor brings a unique perspective to fighting COVID-19: that of someone who was hospitalized and severely ill with the virus.
“You get a whole other perception of the disease and what it can do,” said John Conlon, MD, chief medical officer at Saint Anne’s Hospital.
Conlon, a resident of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, has been the top doctor at Saint Anne’s for the past six years.
On Christmas day last year, he was admitted to his own hospital after arriving in serious respiratory distress. He spent two weeks in the ICU there, including four days on a ventilator. After coming off of the ventilator, he still faced weeks of recovery.
“When physical therapy came into the (hospital) room, I started crying because I couldn’t walk,” he said.
The experience was a unique one for Conlon, who said he’s not used to be on the patient side of care.
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“I was totally dependent on staff, and it really humbles you and brings you to your knees,” he said.
Conlon said having a severe case of the COVID-19 opened his eyes to how debilitating the disease can be. When the pandemic first hit, it was easy to think of the virus as similar to the flu, he said. But in reality, it can wreak havoc on a person’s respiratory system in an intense way.
And, the experience gave him a better understanding of how difficult it can be to recover from the disease. While not everyone who has COVID-19 gets as sick as Conlon did, plenty face a long struggle to recover.
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“It’s frustrating, it’s depressing and it’s difficult,” he said, remembering how hard it was just to walk on a treadmill when he first got back home.
Conlon said his stay in the hospital also drove home the bravery and skills of the hospital’s workers, who jumped into an unfamiliar situation when the pandemic hit.
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“They didn’t give it a second thought,” he said. “They were real heroes, and they still remain heroes.”
Audrey Cooney can be reached at acooney@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Saint Anne's Hospital doctor gained COVID perspective in hospital
