71 and 72-year-old recovered COVID-19 couple released after months on OKC hospital ventilators

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    OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (KFOR ) — A recovered COVID-19 patient was released from the hospital two months after she and her husband were diagnosed with the disease, spending weeks on ventilators.

On Friday afternoon, Paul Bourne was joined by his family and the staff of the Select Specialty Hospital, awaiting the release of his wife, Evelyn. The two had been kept apart for two months now since they both contracted COVID-19 in March.

“She’s had such a longer haul,” Paul said.

It was a rough road for both of them, bouncing around four different hospitals and stuck on ventilators.

“We celebrated our 51st anniversary here in the ICU, which she doesn’t remember but that’s okay,” Paul said.

The 71 and 72-year-olds both fall squarely in a high-risk category, so their recovery is an incredible relief for their loved ones, family who were forced to prepare for the worst.

Paul was released a couple weeks ago, and finally, Evelyn left the hospital Friday. She was still in a wheelchair, and Paul said she still needs oxygen sometimes, but she’s off her feeding tube and, for the most part, independent.

“It’s wonderful,” Paul said. “Watching the progress from the time she arrived here to now, it’s like night and day.”

Now, as they re-enter the world, Paul said he’s disappointed to see people who still don’t seem to take the pandemic seriously.

“We stopped at Target, and I was kind of appalled at how many people did not have masks,” he said.

He’s hoping the public will consider the danger to those around them.

“It was just like, I almost wanted to jump out of the car and say, ‘Hey, I just spent seven weeks in the hospital getting over it. It’s not a joke people!” Paul said. “But you know, I just feel bad about that.”

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