Loyola Medicine's First Hospitalized COVID-19 Patient is Fully Recovered and Sharing his Gratitude.
Ted Roberts and his wife Ellen made a generous gift to the Loyola Medicine COVID-19 Medical Response Fund as a thank you for the exceptional care he received after being diagnosed with COVID in March 2020.
Ted was the first patient with the disease to be admitted to Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), and the first patient at Loyola to receive the test drug remdesivir.
Soon after arriving to the LUMC emergency department, he was admitted to the hospital with declining blood oxygen levels, transferred to the ICU and placed on a ventilator.
Thanks to Loyola's medical team, led by pulmonologist Kevin Simpson, MD, by Day eight or nine, Ted's condition began to improve and he was taken off the ventilator shortly thereafter.
"My family and I believe, based on conversations with other doctors and medical personnel, that if I were not at Loyola University Medical Center and under the care of Dr. Kevin Simpson, I most likely would not have survived those first critical days," said Ted.
During his hospital stay, "every doctor, nurse, technician and assistant that worked with me treated me like family – caring and loving. That is Loyola! I wish I knew every one of their names so I could personally thank them," said Ted.
Now he is giving back, both philanthropically and by regularly returning to Loyola to provide blood antibodies for a clinical trial. Understanding this important work, Ellen and Ted chose to support Loyola's COVID-19 Medical Response Fund to honor the caregivers who supported them.
"My story is truly a Loyola story," said Roberts. "I am forever grateful."