Colorado Nursing Home Nurse Released After 42 Days In Hospital
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) -- Denise Holscher walked out the hospital doors Wednesday and greeted her husband, one of her daughters, and their three dogs - for the first time in six weeks.
She had not seen them in person since her fight with the Covid-19 coronavirus began in late March.
Holscher, 48, of Greeley, was working as a nurse a local nursing home at that time. The first signs of illness - general weakness, a lack of appetite, and breathing problems - quickly magnified into a severe health issue. Holscher was hospitalized within two days of the symptoms' onset and was placed on a ventilator in an UCHealth Greeley's intensive care unit.
Her release from the hospital last week came on her 42nd day there. Dozens of doctors, nurses and hospital staff lined the hallway and main lobby to see her out.
She said she preferred taking care of others. Holscher has worked as a licensed practical nurse for 27 years.
"I like it more the other way around," she said from her hospital bed days before her discharge.
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Holscher faces time in a rehabilitation center to recover her strength and mobility. She says she is looking forward to going out with her sisters and two daughters and, if she gets her way, getting a pedicure.
A spokesperson said more than 1,200 patients with a Covid-19 infection have been treated at UCHealth's facilities. About 900 of them have recovered and been released, more than 115 of them from the Greeley hospital.