Scott Cohen was released from Northwell Health hospital last week after being sick with COVID-19 for a month. His recovery was attributed to a plasma treatment, and the Long Island resident now wants to warn protesters who want the governor to reopen the state.
Cohen discovered that he had the symptoms of COVID-19 and he was tested positive in late March. His father was also infected. They were both on ventilators but the 80-year-old Cohen was in much worse shape. That's when Scott's brother, Michael Cohen, begged doctors at Northwell Health's Plainview Hospital to use the convalescent plasma treatment on his dad.
The only problem was the treatment wasn't yet approved by the federal government. The Cohen brothers lost their dad before the FDA allowed the state of New York to try to heal critically ill patients using the antibodies extracted from the plasma of individuals who have recovered from the virus.
It took a couple of days for Cohen to get the plasma, he told NBC New York.
"Once they gave that to me in the ICU, all of my numbers within 24 hours started going from 'you were saying to buy' to 'welcome back'," he said.
He says the hospital staff did a fantastic job of taking care of him and his dad. "They've seen you in your best, at your absolute worst, in tears. At one point they're spoonfeeding you,"
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Cohen was eventually released from the hospital on April 26, cheered by healthcare workers. Now he's recovering at his Bellmore home, reunited with his wife and three sons.
But he still has a long road of recovery ahead of him with physical therapy. He's also on an oxygen tank. After nearing the brink of death, Cohen wants to warn others that the coronavirus is serious and it almost cost him everything.
"Stay inside. All this congregating I see on the news, on Facebook. All these people saying it's nonsense and conspiracy theories. This is not. It's as real as it gets," he said.
