SALT LAKE CITY The first COVID-19 patient treated at University of Utah Hospital said he wasnt scared to die, but he was hoping to pull through after his lungs quit working.<\/p>\n
Neal Murphy, 75, believes he contracted COVID-19 on a Feb. 27, 2020, flight from California to Salt Lake City to visit his son, who is a doctor at University Hospital. He said was too tired to go to dinner that night and by morning, his temperature had reached 104.5 degrees.<\/p>\n
I said to my wife, This is not a cold. A day later, they said, this is COVID, Murphy recalled in a U. video production created to commemorate the anniversary of Murphys survival of COVID-19.<\/p>\n
It was the worst possible scenario, he said, adding that he was immediately isolated at the hospital. Murphy was given supplemental oxygen and was ultimately intubated and put on a ventilator for five days. At one point, he was given a 3% chance of survival.<\/p>\n
Ive beat odds like that, thats no problem, he said. Murphy said he posted a picture of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on his hospital bed railing. If he can survive five years of torture, I can go through this.<\/p>\n
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Murphys son, Dr. Ryan Murphy, said that in his dads situation, theres nothing he could do ... either he was going to survive or hes not.<\/p>\n
Hes all about the fight, the struggle never give up, never surrender. Thats his ethos, the younger Murphy said.<\/p>\n
In all, the elder Murphy, a professor of dentistry in Cleveland, was hospitalized in Utah for 13 days.<\/p>\n
I wasnt scared. Im 75 years old. Ive been around the block a few times, he said. Theres a point where you have to say, I can do no more.<\/p>\n
Murphy said he felt reassured by the U. staff.<\/p>\n
Miracles are helped along by the dedicated people in health care, that cannot be denied, he said. They really are heroes. I would be a dead man without them.<\/p>\n
The Utah Department of Health reported 570 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, as well as five new deaths.<\/p>\n
The number of new cases has been gradually declining since after the first of the year. The rolling seven-day average of people with confirmed cases is now 9.5% with the average percentage of tests sitting at 4.6%.<\/p>\n
The state administered nearly 26,100 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since Fridays report, bringing the total number of people who have been fully vaccinated to 304,168 in Utah. A total of 843,032 doses of vaccine have been administered in the state, according to the health department.<\/p>\n
Utah has tested 2.24 million people for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including 7,052 since Fridays report was issued midday.<\/p>\n
There are 194 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 29 fewer than was reported a week ago.<\/p>\n
The deaths reported on Saturday include a Salt Lake County woman older than 85 who was not hospitalized at the time of her death; a Salt Lake County woman between the ages of 45 and 64 who was hospitalized; a Weber County man between 45 and 64 who was hospitalized; a Salt Lake County woman between 25 and 44 who was hospitalized; and, a Uintah County woman between 45 and 64 who was hospitalized.<\/p>\n
The total number of lives lost to COVID-19 in Utah is at 1,975 since the pandemic hit here a year ago.<\/p>\n
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First COVID-19 patient at U. Hospital says he wasnt scared to die - Deseret News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SALT LAKE CITY The first COVID-19 patient treated at University of Utah Hospital said he wasnt scared to die, but he was hoping to pull through after his lungs quit working. Continue reading