Ruby Princess passenger Paul Faraguna leaves Royal Adelaide Hospital after miracle recovery from coronavirus
Paul Faraguna was strong, fit and healthy when he boarded the Ruby Princess cruise ship. But he soon became the first COVID-19 patient in the RAH intensive care unit – and after 35 days in a coma, the last one out.
Coronavirus News
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- ‘It’s confusing, I hear the frustration’: Marshall on SA’s reopening
- Read more local, national and international coronavirus coverage
It was a cruise of a lifetime but for Paul Faraguna and his wife Robyn, their dream New Zealand holiday left them battling the devastating coronavirus.
The eastern suburbs couple, who have been married for 45 years, both caught COVID-19, along with two Adelaide friends, on the ill-fated Ruby Princess ship in March.
And while Mrs Faraguna, 64, has made a full recovery, her husband has “been through hell” as virus ravaged his “strong, fit and healthy” body.
Mr Faraguna, 68, of Rossyln Park, was South Australia’s first patient to be admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s intensive care unit five days after returning from Sydney where the ship had docked. The SA quartet were among 89 people infected on the ship.
In what his wife and medical staff describe as a “miracle”, he has made a remarkable recovery just weeks after fighting for life in a critical condition.
The father of two, a retired engineer, stunned medicos with his recovery after more than a month in an induced coma, and has now been discharged from the hospital into a rehabilitation facility.
“I remember that, after awakening from my coma, virtually every doctor and nurse consistently telling me that my recovery was a miracle,” Mr Faraguna said in a statement, which you can read in full below.
“I thought they were saying it just to give me encouragement. Since I came out of the coma I have a more complete understanding of my miraculous journey and realise the medical staff literally consider me to be a miracle survivor.
“Even though I don’t remember any of the time that I spent in the ICU, I very much appreciate the caring treatment I received and would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
SA Health views his release as a landmark day. Mr Faraguna was the final patient discharged from the ICU and the last remaining COVID-19 infected person to be cared for in the hospital. He has beaten the virus and there are now no active cases in SA.
“He has been through hell for a long time,” his wife told The Advertiser.
“It has been pretty traumatic for him and the whole family. He was in dire straits. It has been devastating for all of us. But it was amazing when he was discharged from the ICU – it really was a miracle to us.
“Paul was a very fit, strong and healthy man prior to the Ruby Princess cruise and also a very clean and hygienic person, so it is extremely contagious.
“We hope he can get all his strength and fitness back one day but it’s going to be a long road.”
After returning from the “lovely” cruise on March 19, he starting feeling unwell. He was assessed in the RAH’s COVID-19 clinic on March 22, before being admitted to a ward.
His condition quickly deteriorated and he was admitted to the ICU on March 24 before being placed into an induced coma for 35 days as the virus attacked his organs and staff fought to keep him alive.
For his family, they have relied on their “strong Catholic faith” as they prayed for him to make a full recovery. But they were unable to be by his bedside after visitors were banned from the ICU due to the virus dangers.
MORE NEWS
Crows throw in a car to rev up membership drive
Crushed bv COVID-19: The jobs the virus has cost SA
Anti-vaxxers target MPs office
They were updated daily on his condition and were also able to video conference with him.
When he woke he believed he had been asleep for a short time, according to his wife, a retired SES manager. He is slowly regaining his strength.
“We … want to assert the message to everyone to do all the right things to ensure they don’t end up being one of the unlucky ones like Paul, who was affected in the worst way,” she said.
“This horrible virus attacks the organs one by one while others like me may only be mildly affected.”
The family, however, has been left deeply saddened for the relatives of the four patients who died, which they say is “so heartbreaking and totally unfair”.
They also want to publicly thank the dedicated ICU staff.
“We absolutely want to thank all the wonderful and amazingly skilled doctors, nurses and allied health staff in the ICU, and also those in the West Wing’s Ward 6G, for bringing their first COVID patient through safely to when he left five and a half weeks later as their last,” she said.
“For a long time there seemed little hope.”
