POQUOSON, Va. (WAVY) As the coronavirus pandemic continues, thousands of Americans have had to process grief and loss.<\/p>\n
A Poquoson man survived getting covid-19, only to lose a close family friend to the virus.<\/p>\n
Many families worldwide are dealing with losing loved ones from the virus, and are looking for better days. 79-year-old Poquoson resident Erbin Lender beat COVID-19, but lost his friend as well.<\/p>\n
He passed and I survived, Lender said of his friend, Al McKinney.<\/p>\n
In September, Lender and his wife Jane went to Shreveport, Louisiana, to visit the Mckinneys, who are family friends.<\/p>\n
They had been to a funeral the week before we got there, and they had contacted COVID, they did not know it at the time when we arrived, Lender said.<\/p>\n
Lender was a patient at Willis-Knighton Pierremont in Shreveport, just 15 miles from Willis-Knighton Medical Center North for eleven days. He was taken care of by Dr. Jennifer Prime, who is in charge of the COVID-19 unit.<\/p>\n
We treated him with everything we have medically available for COVID-19, Prime said.<\/p>\n
Lender was on specialized oxygen for seven days, and then he was put back on regular oxygen.<\/p>\n
The doctor told me that it looked like I had come through the hardest part. My lungs were responding, were recovering, Lender said.<\/p>\n
Although things were looking up for him, Prime explained to Lender that the ventilator was his only hope of staying alive.<\/p>\n
But Lender elected not to go on the machine.<\/p>\n
Lender says the hospital staff tried different ways of treating COVID-19 for patients. Some of the methods of treatment worked for him, some did not.<\/p>\n
He did require what we call an Airvo that is a oxygen delivery system, Prime said.<\/p>\n
In Lenders case, the heating of oxygen was his life saver.<\/p>\n
Mr. Lender was able come down off his oxygen requirements and ultimately improve and go home, which was a miracle, Prime said.<\/p>\n
However, McKinney, Lenders friend who contracted COVID-19 at the funeral before Lender visited, was also hospitalized at Willis-Knighton North while Lender was in the other hospital.<\/p>\n
MKinney died from kidney failure on Sept. 20. <\/p>\n
Lender is a survivor, but it still heartbroken over the loss of his friend.<\/p>\n
It was a sad circumstance. Thats your friend that youve known all these years, Lender said.<\/p>\n
Still, Lender is grateful for the hospital staff for saving his life.<\/p>\n
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Link:<\/p>\n
Poquoson man survives COVID-19, but is heartbroken after losing friend to the virus - WAVY.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" POQUOSON, Va. (WAVY) As the coronavirus pandemic continues, thousands of Americans have had to process grief and loss. A Poquoson man survived getting covid-19, only to lose a close family friend to the virus Continue reading