A Long Island man who was hospitalized for a month and intubated with severe COVID-19 symptoms was released last Sunday.
Scott Cohen, his family and his doctors attribute his recovery to convalescent plasma therapy, which utilizes COVID antibodies extracted from plasma of individuals who have recovered from the virus to treat critically ill patients.
Both Cohen and his 80-year-old father were hospitalized with COVID-19 in April. Both were on ventilators. Scott's brother, Michael, once begged doctors at Northwell Health's Plainview Hospital to treat his family members with convalescent plasma.
The FDA eventually approved the treatment for critically ill patients but not before the Cohens' father succumbed to the disease.
Scott received the plasma treatment within days of the FDA's ruling. His turnaround was almost immediate, he told NBC 4 New York.
"Once they gave that to me in the ICU, all of my numbers within 24 hours started going from 'you were saying goodbye' to 'welcome back," he said.
Scott, who is now recovering at his home in Bellmore, complimented hospital staff for taking such good care of him and his late-father.
While he's tested negative for COVID-19, his lengthy hospitalization and intubation took a toll. He's using an oxygen tank to help him breathe, and will eventually have to begin physical therapy.
He warned protesters urging states to reopen that the coronavirus is not to be taken lightly.
Photo: Getty Images