OVERLAND PARK, KS (KCTV) – A wife, mother and grandmother from Missouri are home from hospital after a 377-day battle with COVID and the toll it’s taken on her body.
Doctors, nurses and family members stood in the lobby of MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital in Overland Park on Thursday, anxiously waiting for Gwen Starkey to take the elevator down.
With handmade welcome signs, balloons and a live stream full of waiting supporters, every minute felt like an eternity.
“I’m so excited,” Starkey’s daughter Valerie Mills said. “There are not even words. My heart beats wildly. My blood circulates in my body. I never thought this day would come. It’s here and I can’t wait.
Once the elevator doors opened, the group cheered as the mother fought to survive. His family members say faith, determination and the dedicated medical teams at Kindred Hospital Northland and MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital made his return possible.
As she crossed the hall, two small arms were outstretched and waiting to hug her. Starkey’s grandson Kai wrapped his arms around his best friend. They held each other firmly. Getting to this moment has been a long journey.
Starkey’s family members waited at the window of his hospital as protocols previously prevented visitors. They celebrated every milestone, including the release of a ventilator and the transfer of Starkey from a hospital to rehab.
“He’s the best medicine ever,” Starkey’s daughter April Shaver said of her son Kai.
” He is. He doesn’t even know it, Starkey answered, holding his hand. “He just has my heart. »
Starkey is ready to live his life outside of a hospital room. She is ready to enjoy the little things.
“One thing above all else is that I have the best loving family I could ask for,” Starkey said.
“I’m so happy to have my mom,” Mills said. “You don’t realize what you have until it’s just not there. »
Shaver began wiping away her tears as she sat next to her mother and sister.
“It’s a bit tearful here. Something in the air,” Shaver said.
A sign reading “We Love You Grandma” hung when Starkey was first hospitalized on a window in Shaver’s home. He finally came down. It has been replaced with a new sign that reads, “She’s home.”
“That’s what I live for, this family,” Starkey said. “I can go home with my family. That’s all I want. »
Starkey says her husband has been her rock throughout her recovery.
She also thanked the medical teams who treated her before returning home for the first time in a very long time.
“I’m so ready to go home. You have all been wonderful to me,” Starkey said. “I couldn’t ask for better caregivers. Thanks very much. »
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