‘Make sure I wake up. I have a daughter.’ After 2 months unconscious, COVID-19 survivor reunited with family

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    INGLEWOOD, CA (KABC) — Cheers echoed through Centinela Hospital in Inglewood as COVID-19 survivor Michael Orantes was finally ushered back into the arms of his family.

It had been touch-and-go for the 32-year-old construction worker who was hospitalized for 93 days.

The head of the hospital said that Orantes battled a “catastrophic storm.”

A lung collapsed repeatedly.

“His heart started taking a pounding. His brain started taking a beating,” says Dr. Paryus Patel.

Orantes descended quickly after a trip to Spain. He was on a respirator, unconscious for over two months.

He’s from a devoutly Christian family. His mother calls his awakening a resurrection.

“We give thanks to God that he has done a miracle to our son Michael,” said Pedro Orantes.

The patient prayed for for a miracle, too. He thought about his 2-year-old girl, Elizabeth, who missed him at home.

The outlook was dire in the moments before he was intubated. He mustered a plea.

“He said, ‘Make sure I wake up. I have a daughter.’ So that crushed me. Heartbreaking,” said Dr. Anna Carchi with Centinela Hospital.

With heaving sobs, relatives took turns embracing Orantes as members of their church sang songs and praised the Centinela Hospital staff.

Orantes’ medical team did not take a single day off at this community hospital for 90 days.

The hospital doctor says it was their moral duty.

“Treating patients and saving lives. Is that something of amazement? No, that is our job,” said Dr. Patel.

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