Coronavirus Philadelphia: Beloved South Jersey Soccer Coach Receives Hero's Sendoff After Battling COVID-19
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- One coronavirus survival story from Einstein Hospital comes with some amazing community support and love. Gerry Baus, 48, received a hero's sendoff after three weeks at Einstein Hospital battling COVID-19.
"I literally put my life in their hands and I'm alive today because of what they did," Baus said. "They never gave up on me and they fought for me every second of every day I was there."
Baus, who's the assistant director of protective services at Einstein Hospital, needed all kinds of medical intervention.
"It's pretty scary when you realize your body's collapsing on itself," he said.
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But COVID-19 was no match for Baus, who's a hometown hero in South Jersey, where he's a popular soccer coach and beloved friend.
"When you have an entire community pulling for you, when you have that kind of support staff, you really can't go wrong," Baus said.
Baus's treatment included a ventilator and experimental drugs, including hydroxychloroquine. But new research on the drug, touted by the president, says it doesn't work and might be dangerous.
"It's very possible that he recovered despite the hydroxychloroquine rather than because of it," Dr. Robert Fischer said.
Fischer says Einstein might limit or stop using hydroxychloroquine because of the new research.
"I am definitely a success story," Baus said.
Emerging from the brink of death, there was a welcome home parade for Baus.
Signs of love and support, all over the neighborhood and at the hospital too, where he was reminded about being a brave survivor.
"It was very heartening to see the support that I got from co-workers and the town as a whole," Baus said."I would have never expected that I had so many people pulling for me. At the end of the day, it's the most remarkable thing to come out of this, is the support that I got."
They prayed for him and he fought back to finally be reunited with his family.
"It was pretty amazing, it was a great feeling," Baus said.
Baus says he's happy to be recovering at home and is hoping the suspended soccer season gets restarted at some point because he misses his kids at the Collingswood travel soccer club.
