x
Breaking News
More () »

'Continue to press on' | Triad pastor says COVID-19 recovery process is grueling, even 10 months after testing positive

High Point Pastor Rory Baker tested positive for COVID-19 in April of last year and spent two months in the hospital battling the virus before returning home.

NORTH CAROLINA, USA — We're learning more about what recovery life is like for those who have battled through COVID-19. 

While doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff are working hard to give patients the help they need while they're in the hospital with COVID-19, that care doesn't stop once patients are discharged. 

Dr. Ashley Perrott is a family physician at Salem Family Medicine and Interim Market Leader for the greater Winston-Salem market at Novant Health. 

Dr. Perrott said Novant Health has a team of RN's that help to connect COVID-19 patients with primary care physicians for virtual follow-ups after they leave the hospital. 

Dr. Perrot said they're not seeing patients that were hospitalized get discharged from the hospital and then have to return.

"What we are seeing is patients who initially test positive for COVID and are able to be at home may have a worsening episode or another complication that requires more help from a hospital," she said. 

RELATED: COVID Blog: Second-highest day for hospitalizations in North Carolina

Dr. Perrot said post-hospital care can require anything from oxygen to antibiotics depending on the condition of the person recovering from COVID-19. 

High Point Pastor Rory Baker knows the road to recovery all too well. 

He tested positive for the virus in April 2020 and spent two months in the hospital. His recovery continues to this day. 

"I had to learn to walk again, talk," he said, "My voice is a little bit raspy and that's because of the time I spent on the ventilator."

Baker said he's still going to physical therapy to this day, trying to gain back his strength. 

"I'm probably about 60 percent at this point but it's still probably a long way from where I was when I was released from the hospital," he said.

RELATED: Where to receive your coronavirus vaccine: County-by-county list for the Piedmont Triad

His wife Melissa said helping her husband battle through recovery has been overwhelming, but they push on together with their faith as their guide. 

"I can still feel the prayers of the people and that's what's truly helping us," Melissa said.

We first shared Pastor Bakers' story last summer. 

We told you how his wife prayed for him twice a day at his hospital window, clutching a Bible with a picture of a pair of healthy lungs.

The Bakers have come a long way, but are still on a difficult journey.

RELATED: 'Thankful and grateful:' High Point pastor who spent 87 days in hospital with COVID-19, survives heart surgery while enduring side effects

Before You Leave, Check This Out