Tower City family looks forward after COVID-19

May 9—TOWER CITY — A strain of COVID-19 cases within the Klinger-Koch family starting in November has changed life in many ways.

Brenda Klinger Koch, her husband, Doug Koch, her father, Marlin Klinger, her brothers, Dan and Marlin Jr., and her uncle, Ray Klinger, all contracted COVID-19 around Thanksgiving to varying degrees.

"Here we are, one family, we had from one end of the gambit to the other," Doug Koch said.

Around a week before Thanksgiving, Brenda Koch started to feel sick, followed by her father. The family decided not to gather for Thanksgiving out of caution.

When Brenda's symptoms started getting worse during the last week of November, she got tested for COVID-19, and it came back positive. On Dec. 7, Doug took her to the emergency room and had to leave due to visitor limitations.

On Dec. 9, she was put in an induced coma and on a ventilator.

"I got a call that said she had the oxygen of a dead person," Doug Koch said. "Her last message to me was, 'Okay, they're here. It's time.' "

She spent eight days in the coma and on the ventilator at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where she ultimately stayed for five weeks.

"When I came out of the coma, it took me a couple more days until I was able to call Doug," Brenda said. "Your whole body shuts down when you're in a coma. I picked up my phone, but I didn't know how to use it."

She said the experience of regaining memory after the coma was like having to sort through a stack of mail and figure out what was junk and what was real. She has some memories of hearing the doctors in the room and interacting with nurses, who were only allowed in the room once every four hours.

"I remember at one point, I reached up, gathered all my strength and grabbed the nurse's arm and told her, 'please don't leave me,' " Brenda said.

Brenda's father, Marlin, was taken to the hospital soon after, followed by her uncle, Ray, who lived with Marlin under his care. On Christmas Day, Brenda, Doug and Brenda's brothers had a conference call with Marlin's doctor.

"They told us he could go on the ventilator and have a 10% survival rate, or we could make him comfortable," Brenda said. "I said 10%, let's do it. If I could make it through the ventilator, my dad is healthier than me, he can definitely make it."

At that point, Brenda had been transferred to the Penn State Health Rehabilitation Hospital for her recovery. She said she was able to call the medical center and speak to her dad over the phone while he was in a coma.

"They tell you that if you're in a coma and someone's talking to you, you can hear them," Brenda said. "I was thinking that was probably the last time I could talk to my dad, and hopefully he could hear me."

Marlin was on the ventilator for a week, but then his organs began to fail and he died on Jan. 3.

Doug said he was able to arrange to pick Brenda and Ray up from the rehabilitation hospital on Jan. 9, in time to attend Marlin's funeral on Jan. 12.

Now, about four months later, Brenda still has difficulty breathing and tires easily, but she improves every day. She has been going to Snyder Physical Therapy, where she has done walking and breathing exercises to help her recover.

After going through this hardship, Brenda said the debate over whether or not people want to get the vaccine or follow health and safety guidelines is personal to her.

"It is personal to me and every single one of us," Brenda said. "We all deserve to be safe and healthy again. I don't want anyone I care about to go through the hell our family went through."

Doug said he is thankful that his symptoms were minimal, but he cannot imagine all that his wife has gone through.

"I try to understand, but she's lost both parents now," Doug said. "I can't imagine what it would be like if my parents both died."

Brenda's mother, Mildred "Doll" Klinger, died from ALS in 2011. Brenda said she feels grateful for the life her parents gave her.

"This is the home I grew up in," Brenda said. "My dad and mom sat down and drew the plans, and my dad built this home with his hands. I thank God for the circle of family, the knowledge of love that my parents gave us."

While Brenda and Doug live on one side of Tower City, they have been splitting time between their house and her father's house in order to take care of Ray, who is disabled.

Doug and Brenda also thank their friends and the community, who have brought them food and continue to offer help.

Moving forward, they hope to make steps toward normalcy. While they still practice precaution, Brenda said they are trying to focus on the positive.

"We need to look forward to the future because God has given us that gift," Brenda said. "We can't live in fear, but we just don't want to go through this again."