Finally Home: Sutter County Man Battling COVID-19 For 83 Days Released From Hospital
MARYSVILLE (CBS13) – The thunderous sound of applause filled the lobby of Adventist Health and Rideout in Marysville, all for a patient who was more than ready to be discharged.
"I saw that everybody was clapping at him when they was wheeling him out of the hospital and that felt good. I almost wanted to cry," Gabriel Calixto said.
And those tears would have been tears of joy for Gabriel Calixto. His father Celedonio is finally out of the Marysville hospital after being treated for COVID-19 for 83 days.
"That was a great feeling and I told that to my mother and she almost cried of excitement. We were just grateful; It's been a long three months. It's been rough," Calixto said.
Those rough three months started at the beginning of the summer. After a landscaping job, Celedonio came down with a fever then his lungs began to get irritated. He later tested positive for coronavirus.
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The Calixto family thought their father would only be in the hospital for at most a month.
"When we found out he had COVID and then all of sudden, they told us he had an infection in his lungs and it was filling up with fluid," Gabriel Calixto said. "That's when we really started getting worried."
What also worried this family was seeing their father intubated. That worry turned into another feeling.
"We felt helpless," Gabriel Calixto said.
During those three months, Adventist Health And Rideout in Marysville says Mr. Calixto was transferred multiple times within the hospital to get the level of care he needed.
Then one day the phone buzzed with the call they'd been praying for.
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"When they told us he was going to get discharged, we're just ecstatic," Calixto said. "[I] stopped what I was doing and we just went and picked him up."
It's been nearly 90 days since Mr. Calixto traded his own bed for a hospital bed. CBS13 asked Celedonio how does it feel to be back home.
He said that it feels good to be back home. Adding that he truly appreciates and thanks all of the doctors and nurses who tried to save his life, thanking God that he is getting better.
The entire family is doing better knowing that dad is back home. Now, there's one thing this newly released patient is looking forward to.
"He was just ready to eat. That's the one thing he missed was my mom's cooking. That's for sure," Gabriel Calixto said with a laugh.
Gabriel said he stepped in and took on all of the jobs and clients for his dad's landscaping business while getting treatment.