Man has spent weeks on ventilator after getting COVID-19

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    BAY CITY, Michigan (WNEM) — A mid-Michigan man continues his battle against COVID-19, spending weeks breathing through a ventilator.

“The sweetest, most loving person you’ll ever meet. It’s been hard being here without him. Just got to have faith that he’ll eventually come home,” Heather Duchane said.

32-year-old Larry Duchane has been on a ventilator for three weeks. His wife heather said Larry didn’t have any health problems before contracting COVID-19.

But he’s got a life-threatening case.

“I’ve had to say goodbye to him multiple times. When he was first intubated, they let me say goodbye to him and I didn’t know if I would talk to him again. I did get to see him wheeled out before he was airlifted to University of Michigan. That was another time we got to say goodbye, don’t know if I’ll ever see my husband alive again,” Duchane said.

Heather said one of the worst parts is not being able to physically be there and hold her husband’s hand.

“I facetime him every night. He’s heavily sedated, so I don’t get any response from him. But just to talk to him so he can hear my voice,” Duchane said.

Over the weekend family and friends held a socially distanced candlelight vigil for Larry’s recovery in Bay City’s Wenonah Park.

“It was 2.5 hours after we did that prayer, the nurse told me they were able to turn his oxygen down a little bit. I was trying not to get too excited there. It changes so much hour by hour,” Duchane said.

Heather is doing her best to stay positive and the community has shown its support in full force by raising more than $11,000 to support this young family.

“There’s just a lot of unknowns so I’m so grateful for friends, family, people that don’t even know us that have donated to that cause,” Duchane said.

Duchane said doctors may be able to perform a tracheotomy to help Larry’s breathing.

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