The coronavirus pandemic has taught us a lot. Even though the year has given us endless troubles, the pandemic sure served its lessons. One of the most important would be gratitude. Feeling grateful for even the smallest things we have, appreciating those little moments and acknowledging our near ones, the frontline heroes and more—all these are an important attitude we all need to build to survive the pandemic. COVID-19 have caused serious illness among people. Many died because of the virus. Medical researchers are currently working the vaccine. Amid the ongoing situation, there is this COVID-19 survivor in the United States who reportedly spent months to track down 116 healthcare workers to thank them for saving his life.

45-year-old, Jeff Gerson from Manhattan was suffering from shortness of breath, an uncontrollable cough, and a 103-degree fever. He was admitted at NYU Langone Tisch Hospital on March 18, 2020. The next day, he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and was put on a medical ventilator. He caught the virus at a time, when it was early in the pandemic. Not much was known about how to treat a COVID-19 patient, except for what doctors were doing in China and Italy, two of the earliest hot spots. Humanity in Healthcare! Jewish Doctor Treats COVID-19 Patient Boasting Nazi Tattoos, Viral Twitter Thread Shows How Frontline Heroes Put Humanity Above Anything. 

With the help of ECMO and tracheostomies, Gerson was treated. ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), uses a pump to remove the patient’s blood and circulate it through an artificial lung. A tracheotomy is a medical procedure that helps to create an opening in the neck in order to place a tube into a person’s windpipe. His condition was serious. But he recovered, all thanks to the 116 healthcare workers at the hospital who worked their best to help him fight the virus. According to reports, he spent five months trying to track down every medical professional who helped him.

“I just feel tremendously grateful and lucky. The story, if there is one, is not necessarily that I survived, but that these people saved my life. I really felt the need to find them, get their names, and thank them,” he was quoted saying to CNN. The COVID-19 survivor penned a letter in November, 2020 to thank the doctors, nurses, therapists and others. “If you are receiving this letter, it is because I have become aware that you had a part in saving my life. It is only after much effort on my part to find your names that I would realize just how many of you there were on my care team,” Gerson wrote in the letter, as noted by CNN and a hospital administrator passed his message along to the staff.

It is so thoughtful of him! We must acknowledge the health care officials and everything they have been doing to keep us all safe, help us to fight and recover from illnesses. After a month-long treatment, he dedicated himself to look for all those medical staff members who did their best to help him recover. Out of 116 healthcare workers, he, unfortunately, could not reach one doctor, who fell ill and died of the virus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 10, 2020 09:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).