'It can happen to you': California resident lost his fingers due to COVID-19

A COVID-19 survivor from Burbank, California who spent 64 days in hospital lost most of his fingers, writes KTLA.

Photo: Shutterstock

A man who spent two months in a Burbank hospital being treated for COVID-19 shared his story as a warning to others to take the virus seriously - after he suffered serious complications including the amputation of most of his fingers.

Gregg Garfield and a dozen of his friends contracted the novel coronavirus during a ski trip to Italy in February, before the pandemic spread widely in the United States.

Garfield's case turned out to be the worst of his group, and he was admitted to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, becoming the first COVID-19 patient there. Within 48 hours of his admission to the hospital, Garfield's condition worsened significantly and he was placed on a ventilator.

The doctors gave him a 1% chance of survival.

“Medically, I shouldn’t be here,” Garfield said.

Photo: video frame ktla.com

He noted the long list of complications he suffered from the respiratory disease, "from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, sepsis, kidney failure, liver failure, pulmonary embolism, lung ruptures - all of these at the same time."

Garfield spent a total of 64 days in the hospital, including 31 days on a ventilator. According to Dr. Daniel Dea, the mortality rate of patients with COVID-19 placed on mechanical ventilation is at least 70%.

But Garfield survived and was discharged from the hospital. On May 8, the day Garfield returned home, Deah said his near-complete recovery was "amazing."

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Garfield faced lifelong consequences of the disease: his fingers were amputated on both hands.

“I survived it. I'm doing fantastic. However, please note this. My hands will never be the same,” he said, holding up his bandaged hands. I don't have fingers anymore. This could happen to you."

Garfield had all the fingers of his right hand amputated and most of the fingers of his left.

Photo: video frame ktla.com

His surgeon, Dr. David Culber of the Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said the amputations are the result of the virus affecting patients' bloodstream.

“COVID has an effect on endovascular blood flow, so it actually affects the flow of blood,” Culber said. “That’s why some young people have suffered strokes, and that’s why anticoagulation — forcing patients to thin their blood — has now become standard treatment for COVID patients.”

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Garfield's finger repair process will involve at least six surgeries. According to Culber, surgeons will have to create prostheses for his fingers, helping them to function "like a bionic hand."

The medical costs for these procedures will exceed the $ 2 million hospital bill for a two-month stay, although most of that amount was covered by insurance. The insurance does not cover his further prosthetics.

Photo: video frame ktla.com

Created almost three months ago, the GoFundMe account has raised over $ 200 to help Garfield cover medical expenses.

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase in Southern California and the US, Garfield and his girlfriend AJ Johnson urge people to take the virus seriously and wear masks.

“This shouldn’t be about politics,” Johnson said. “We must unite as people.”

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