MONTREAL -- Medical staff at Barcelona's Hospital del Mar recently treated their longest COVID-19 patient to an outing on the seashore after he spent 114 days in intensive care.
Joan Soler Sendra, 63, was admitted to the hospital during the first wave of the pandemic last November.
He was infected along with two of his brothers, but was the only one who needed to go to the hospital.
On March 25, after four months in intensive care and finally managing to breathe without a ventilator, Sendra was able to go out in the sun and see his family.
Medical staff rolled Sendra's hospital bed across the street to the seashore, where he was met by family.
Both family and staff had to pull their mask down so Sendra, who lost hearing after contracting meningitis as a kid, could read their lips.
"To be able to go out and see their families, the sun and the sea is like a shot of vitality and gives them a desire to continue fighting," said Dr. Andrea Castellvi, the hospital's deputy of intensive care service.
"This is a very strong boost of adrenaline, first for him," added Jaume Soler, Sendra's brother, "and to us, it's a boost of morale."
Though Sendra's condition is improving, the man still has a long recovery ahead, Dr. Castellvi mentioned. "He required a mechanical ventilator for a long time and now he is starting to try to breathe on his own, he is succeeding and here we are, progressing little by little."
With files from Reuters
