'Thankful To God' | UMMS Announces Their 1,000th COVID-19 Patient Steve Nicewarner Released
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The University of Maryland Medical System announced it has released its 1,000th COVID-19 patient after a one-month stay at the hospital.
Steve Nicewarner is now recovering at his Elkridge home with his wife and two grown daughters after a a 31-day hospitalization at University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center.
"I'm thankful that God brought me through this ordeal and for being able to come home to be with my family," said the 57-year-old federal government employee. "I'm also thankful for all the prayers and for the support of our friends and family."
Nicewarner was home ill for a week prior to being taken to the hospital on May 24. He had developed a fever on May 17 and tested positive for coronavirus the next day. He was on a ventilator in the ICU for 10 days and had to be proned, or flipped on his stomach in order to get more oxygen into his lungs. He lost a part of his memory and couldn't remember being taken to the hospital.
"It was very hard not to have eyes on Steve," said his wife, Cindy Nicewarner. "The hardest part for us was knowing he was in the hospital, going through some very scary things and was feeling all alone."
Before he was put on the ventilator, he would speak to his family was able to talk to him via calls and texts as well as a tablet in the room with the assistance of a nurse, because Steve could only mouth words and use hand motions.
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The Nicewarner family thanks the care team at UMBWMC, their family and friends and their faith community at Lighthouse Church in Glen Burnie for their support.
Johnna, the Steve and Cindy's 25-year-old daughter, is a ER nurse at UMBWMC. She tested positive for COVID-19 as well as her 31-year-old sister Jenny, who's a third-grade teacher in Anne Arundel County.
Their 28-year-old son Rob, who lives in West Virginia and is working on his doctorate, did not contract COVID-19, but he postponed his May 28 wedding due to the pandemic and his father's hospitalization.
"We are deeply honored to have helped more than one thousand patients across the state recover from COVID," said Mohan Suntha, CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System. "These discharges are an acknowledgement of the selfless work and continuing commitment and dedication of our heroic staff across the System, those who work on the frontlines providing outstanding care as well as those who work behind the scenes. We also think about, and keep in our collective memory, those who COVID took from us."
The family is so moved by the outpouring of love and support.
"We are surrounded by love and comfort during this journey and are so grateful for all who have lifted us up by walking with us. Many of these people we don't even know," Cindy Nicewarner said. "Steve was added to so many church prayer chains all over. So our story is a testimony of love—of God's love for us and for the love we share for one another."
"We feel so very grateful to God for sparing his life," she added, noting that when her husband is fully recovered, the family is most looking forward to taking a vacation together.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
