ORLANDO, Fla. — Arnaldo Ferrer still has a hard time speaking about what happened in the hospital.

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For two months, he watched his wife lie motionless in bed, not responding to the sound of his voice, the nurses who cared for her or the prayer vigils held outside.

In other rooms inside the COVID ward, patients recovered, or died. He saw 14 body bags – and can rattle off the circumstances for every one of them. Each time, he would return his gaze to his wife’s machines, watching to see if they, too, would flatline.

The worst moment came when the doctors approached him about inducing that very situation.

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“They told me, ‘You know what? You got to think about if this is going to be good for your wife, as a normal living. You have an option to let her go,’” he recalled. “I said no.”

Yolian Ferrer contracted the virus in August but, for a few weeks, wasn’t sure if she had it. Tests results kept showing negative, even after she began struggling to breathe.

A third trip to the hospital proved to be the final straw. Doctors swabbed deeper – and the result was positive.

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Ferrer wouldn’t leave the facility until January 6. Sixty days of her stay were spent in a coma, and her heart stopped three times. Her husband’s faith proved true, though. She’d be discharged to recover at home.

Thus began an even longer road.

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Arnaldo Ferrer Woman battling COVID fights for strength to get lung transplant (Nick Papantonis)

Out of sight

Ferrer is one of thousands of people recovering from “long COVID,” or a severe case of the virus that does not disappear in a few weeks.

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The fact that she was home didn’t lead to many immediate changes. Her husband and friends set up a virtually identical copy of her ICU room in a spare bedroom. With both of her lungs destroyed beyond repair, she still needs a ventilator to breathe and a feeding tube to eat. A chest of drawers has been repurposed into a medical supply station. She can’t use the bathroom without someone assisting her.

Ferrer’s goal is to be able to get herself out of bed and into a wheelchair. Only then will she be considered strong enough to be placed on the transplant list.

She has a long way to go. Her newest abilities are to speak in a whisper-like tone and sit up for seven minutes. She’s far from lifeless, though. Informed that cameras were on the way, she insisted on putting on makeup and bright red lipstick, against the advice of a friend.

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“She said, ‘Don’t! People are going to be like, why?’” she recalled, smiling. “I said, ‘Yes, because I don’t want people to be sorry for me when I’m alive. My life is a celebration.’”

Ferrer is lucky in more ways than one. Her husband had accumulated enough savings to stop working to care for her at first, bolstered by a small team of volunteer friends, family and neighbors who allow him occasional rest. None of them had any nursing experience before her infection. Now, they can program and troubleshoot her ventilator.

Eventually, though, the situation took its toll. Insurance only paid for a small portion of the expenses. Much of her care now comes from out-of-pocket, including extra rounds of therapy to supplement the 14 hours per month she was initially allowed. Arnaldo returned to work in a less senior, but more flexible role that allows him to come and go when needed. In return, the bank helped him avoid a foreclosure on his house.

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A friend set up a GoFundMe campaign to pay for future expenses, leaving the family room to think about one day at a time, climb toward the transplant list – and keep Ferrer breathing.

“In a minute, something can change fast,” Arnaldo Ferrer said. “The minute that something changes, and I’m there for her, it means a lot.”

By sharing their story, the couple hopes to show the world that miracles happen out of sight every day. They want people’s faith to grow, and to prove that continuing to fight against all odds pays off.

“Most importantly is to have faith,” Ferrer said. “Everything that comes out of your mouth has got to be a contribution. If it doesn’t, don’t say it.”

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