Coronavirus: Woman given hours to live recovers from COVID-19

BENTON, Ark. — An Arkansas woman suffering from the coronavirus was given hours to live after her ventilator was removed but made a miraculous recovery and was recently released after spending 84 days at the hospital.

>> Read more trending news

“God had another plan for me,” Rhonda Withem told KARK. “He wasn’t ready to take me.”

Withem started to experience symptoms in November and tested positive for the coronavirus, KARK reported.

When her condition got worse her family took her to the hospital where her health continued to decline. She was placed on a ventilator for two weeks but her condition did not improve. Her family was given a choice: her mother could undergo a life-changing surgery that would require her to have constant care or remove the ventilator.

The family decided to remove the ventilator and Withem opened her eyes. She was responsive for the first time in weeks.

“(The doctors) were just in shock and couldn’t believe it,” daughter Nicole Brewer said.

After 84 days in the hospital, Withem was released. She is in a wheelchair as she regains strength. She is making progress using a walker. She hopes to return to work by the end of the year.

“It’s almost like starting over from a baby because you have to learn to do everything over again,” Withem said.

Withem feels fortunate.

“It’s just still hard to believe, because a lot of people haven’t made it from this virus,” she said.

Cox Media Group