ST. LOUIS (KTVI) – A nurse on the front lines helping others with COVID contracted the virus himself. Now, after months of fighting for his life, he is finally recovering – but his insurance says they are no longer willing to cover the expense.
Lakeitha and Gerald Adory are both retirement home nurses and loving parents to a 5-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter.
The family was healthy until early September, when all of them contracted COVID-19. Lakeitha’s mother, who lives with them, was the first to show symptoms and was hospitalized a few days later.
Eleven hours after sending her mother to the hospital at on Sept. 8, Lakeitha said Gerald woke up very confused. He was slurring his words and Lakeitha called an ambulance, thinking he was having a stroke. It was COVID.
In the hospital, Gerald became increasingly confused and then shortly after that, unresponsive. He was on a ventilator for 38 days. Gerald then had a seizure and doctors had to sedate him. After removing the sedation, Gerald didn’t wake up. He was in a coma and doctors had to put in a tracheostomy tube to protect his airway.
After over a month of being unresponsive, Gerald started to wake up but wasn’t able to talk or move his arms and legs.
Once he was stable, Gerald was transferred to Missouri Baptist Selective Care for ventilator weening.
After that it was on to DePaul Rehabilitation hospital for speech, physical, and occupational therapy. Gerald was making improvements but after a week of being there, the hospital called. They told Lakeisha that her insurance had decided to no longer cover Gerald’s rehab.
Doctors don’t know why and have tried talking with the insurance company.
Lakeitha is frustrated. She said Gerald got COVID working as a medical professional on the front lines but now he can’t get the therapy he needs. It feels like they are being abandoned.
Lakeitha is hoping insurance take another look at Gerald’s situation, but she’s not sure they will.
Meanwhile, the son of a nursing home resident where Gerald used to work launched a GoFundMe page on Gerald’s behalf.