After 214 days in hospital, Gold Coast's "miracle" COVID patient Richard Misior has finally left the building
Gold Coast's "miracle" COVID patient Richard Misior has a cheeky tip for Gold Coast University Hospital chefs after his 214-day stay
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AFTER 214 days in hospital, Gold Coast's "miracle" COVID patient Richard Misior has finally left the building, and he has a cheeky tip for the health system's chefs.
"The sausages are a little bit odd, perhaps they should buy the ones they sell at Bunnings," he said. "Otherwise the food was fairly good. My favourite dessert was the creme caramel."
Mr Misior caught the virus on a cruise ship in early March and spent 77 days in ICU under the close watch of the Gold Coast University Hospital respiratory and infectious disease team.
He's undergone extensive rehabilitation to learn to walk again and is looking forward to a visit to the beach once he's settled in his new home.
"It's very exciting", said the 81-year-old Surfers Paradise man, who is moving to a nursing home in Labrador.
Speaking about his ordeal, Mr Misior quoted Shakespeare: "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. I am the last one. I had to do what I had do."
He heaped praise on all of the staff at the hospital, from the cooks to the doctors, nurses and physiotherapy team, and everyone one in between.
"They were marvellous, everyone was marvellous."
Mr Misior said he was looking forward to being closer to his wife of 52 years Helen, who had been through "a lot of stress in the past seven months".
"She didn't know if I was alive or dead and then there was a long period of recovery. We look forward to staying together again."
RICHARD LEAVES ICU AFTER 77 DAYS - September 23
HE is the Gold Coast’s “miracle” COVID patient, who has gone from an induced coma to cracking jokes in his bed – after a 77-day stint in ICU.
Now he is leaving the COVID ward all together.
At 81 years old Surfer’s Paradise man Richard Misior was never expected to recover after he contracted the virus while on a cruise ship in early March.
After six months under the close watch of the Gold Coast University Hospital respiratory and infectious disease team, he was today finally given the all clear to leave and head to rehabilitation.
Mr Misior, who was visited by the Health Minister and Deputy Premier Stephen Miles Wednesday, will now undergo a few weeks therapy where he will work to regain his strength.
Surprisingly chirpy given his once frail condition Mr Misior said the first thing he plans to do when he gets out was enjoy a meal at his favourite Chinese restaurant in Bundall.
“It is my favourite, I can’t get that in here,” he said.
As one of the most extreme cases to be presented at the hospital Mr Misior said his first three months were the most concerning.
“It started off mild then I got worse,” he said.
“I was completely paralysed, it was a long coma so I had to work very hard to start recovering.
“My vision changed, my hearing got worse, my taste was ruined and my voice disappeared.”
Mr Misior said the confidence of his wife Helen and her care was one of the reasons he pulled through.
“It worried her a lot, but she never lost her confidence,” he said.
“There were a lot of difficult periods.
“My wife was certainly a big influence on my recovery.
“The doctors and nurses are wonderful, and the physiotherapists – they brought me back to life.”
Mr Misior also had a message for all the coronavirus conspiracy theorists out there.
“It is certainly real,” he said.
“Admittedly many people have a light infection and recover quickly but some people like me are hit very hard and then you have a problem.
“I feel lucky, I know there is a lot of controversy about the restrictions but Queensland has come out very well in the end.
“So with plus and minus I think Queensland has done very well.”
Mr Misior hopes to be out of rehabilitation and walking in the next few weeks and hopes to be fully recovered by Christmas.
FIVE-WEEK WAIT: NSW COULD BE LOCKED OUT UNTIL NOVEMBER
THE PROMISE FOR SURVIVAL - First published on June 19 on Mr Misior's release from ICU
FIGHTING for his life in intensive care as coronavirus ravaged his body, Richard Misior told his beloved wife Helen: “I will do everything I can to come back to you.”
And he did.
Today after 77 days in Gold Coast University Hospital’s intensive care unit due to COVID-19 related pneumonia, he was transitioned to another ward.
“Some people call me the miracle man, but the real miracle workers are the nurses and doctors of this unit,” Mr Misior said.
ICU doctor Matthew Ostwald said the elderly Gold Coaster was “very unwell when he first came to us and he was on a ventilator for a very long time”.
“He also had other infections on top of COVID-19, which is not uncommon for patients in ICU,” Dr Ostwald said.
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Dr Ostwald said Mr Misior was quite weak and required a lot of Allied Health and Physiotherapy input.
“We were initially very concerned about his prognosis but he has done extremely well. It’s a real credit to him, he was always very enthusiastic and engaged in his own care and rehabilitation,” he said.
“77 days is a long time in intensive care and it’s great to see him doing so well.”
The team of staff and a few family members held a morning tea to celebrate and Mr Misior said he was grateful for the support he had received.
SURF CLUB’S AMAZING REVAMP DURING SHUTDOWN
Mrs Misior was at the celebration of her husband’s recovery and reflected on the early days of her husband’s journey in the ICU.
“He said to me, I will do everything I can to come back to you,” she said.
“It’s been a long road. His outlook is just part of his personality and he really wanted to come back to me.”
ICU Nurse Kate Elliotte, who has been on the team looking after Richard since day one, said he was where he was today because of a positive attitude.
“He has been the one who has kept all of the nurses positive. He has just been amazing to care for,” she said.
Originally published as After 214 days in hospital, Gold Coast's "miracle" COVID patient Richard Misior has finally left the building
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