- Larry Kelly, who picked up the
coronavirus in early March, was released from Mount Sinai hospital on Wednesday. - He spent a harrowing 128 days being treated for COVID-19, struggling through infections and
seizures . - Kelly spent 51 days hooked up to a ventilator but said his family refused to give up hope or pull the plug on him.
- "I said, 'Please fight, please don't ever stop fighting.' He said 'I give you my word, I'll never stop fighting,'" his wife, Dawn Kelly, told NBC New York.
A man who contracted the coronavirus when
He had spent 128 days at Mount Sinai Morningside.
Larry Kelly — dubbed "Miracle Larry" by his brother — said that the harrowing ordeal, which began on March 17, involved seizures and infections. For 51 days, a ventilator breathed for him.
"They threw everything at me, I got addicted to fentanyl, they had to wean me off. I'm a recovering drug addict, I don't even remember it," Kelly told NBC New York.
At times, it appeared that he wouldn't make it.
Larry Kelly's brother, Danny, told The New York Times that he tried to visit him on March 20, but wasn't allowed to do so since the coronavirus is highly contagious. He learned from a doctor that Larry was the sickest patient in their care.
Still, Larry's wife, Dawn, refused to abandon hope.
"I said, 'Please fight, please don't ever stop fighting.' He said 'I give you my word, I'll never stop fighting,'" she told NBC New York. "And I believed it."
When Larry was discharged on Wednesday — the first time he saw his family since falling sick four months ago — Dawn was holding up a sign that reminded him of his promise.
"I promise I'll never stop fighting," he had texted her before being put in a drug-induced coma, The Times reported.
"My wife saved my life," an emotional Larry told NBC New York. "She wouldn't let them pull the plug."
Larry also had the support of his community, particularly his beloved neighborhood haunt on the Upper West Side of Manhattan: the Dive Bar.
Lee Seinfeld, who owns the bar, posted a "Let's Go Miracle Larry" in the business' window to show his support. Having known Larry for several years, he told NBC New York that the message would stay up until Larry stopped by for a beer, which he did on Wednesday.
"That was the first indication I existed. I was so moved that you put that sign up," Larry told Seinfeld, according to WLNY, a CBS affiliate.
"Without regulars, without people like Larry, we don't exist. So he's part of our family," Seinfeld said.
Kelly, whose health is not back to pre-pandemic strength, was in a jovial spirit as he headed home, encouraging people who he passed to take precautions and stay 6 feet away from each other.
"I wouldn't wish this on anybody, so, please, wear your mask. Never stop fighting. No matter how tough life gets, don't give up," he said, per WLNY.