EXCLUSIVE: South Jersey Couple Married Nearly 60 Years Removed From Ventilators, Beating COVID-19
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) -- A South Jersey couple, one in their 70s and the other in their 80s, is fighting the coronavirus and winning. Married 60 years this December, Joanne and Mickey Maloney lead a simple life. They love their grandchildren, family get-togethers, the occasional card game and their faith.
About 10 days ago, the outlook for both looked exceedingly grim.
Joanne Maloney, at 78, and her 81-year-old husband, Mickey Maloney, have spent the entire month of April inside Jefferson Washington Township Hospital.
The couple and other relatives all tested positive for COVID-19.
Joanne Maloney's condition deteriorated rapidly, and she had a preexisting lung condition.
Both Joanne and Mickey Maloney were placed on ventilators.
Their children were gripped with potentially losing both parents almost simultaneously.
Their son, Anthony Maloney, an emergency room nurse from northeastern Pennsylvania, described the last two weeks as an emotional rollercoaster ride.
"The prognosis was poor for both of them. I anticipated that I was going to lose both of my parents," he said. "It was just something that I could not even wrap my head around at that point. In the back of my mind, I know the statistics. I know most elderly people, or a lot of them, don't make it. They don't make it off the ventilator."
Their daughter-in-law, Maureen Maloney, said the situation was unimaginable and the news continued to worsen. The family was preparing to say goodbye to its matriarch.
"My mother-in-law had significant complications with her kidney functions and we were told, really twice, that she wasn't going to make it. We were all geared up for that," she said. "The potential that a whole generation in our family could have been lost just hit like a ton of bricks. That generation is so at risk."
But staff worked tirelessly, solving a complicated puzzle as Joanne Maloney's organs were failing. About 10 days ago, she was administered a diuretic to try to jump-start her kidneys.
With her husband already making a turnaround, the medication seemed to work. Her improvement was steady. Both she and her husband were soon able to breathe on their own, and both were successfully removed from their ventilators, even to the surprise of family.
Anthony Maloney recalled the moment he learned his mother was off the ventilator.
"They told me they were going to start. She did not make it the first two days, they tried to ween her off the ventilator," he said. "They said they were going to give it another try the following morning. I'm saying, third time's a charm maybe.
"The next morning, I called the nurse just to get an update on my mother and she's telling me 'she's doing fine, I'm feeding her.' I said, 'Feeding her?' 'Oh yeah, your mother came off the vent yesterday, she's doing wonderful.'"
And some more good news -- Mickey Maloney left the hospital on Wednesday. He'll do some rehab, and will hopefully be home sometime soon.
His wife is following in his footsteps.
The couple's children caution they're not entirely out of the woods, but given the statistic -- those who go on ventilators have only a one in five chance of surviving -- this family is choosing hope, and they're planning a large party for the summer.