SEE: 'Miracle' NYC Coronavirus Patient Discharged After 61 Days

NEW YORK, NY — A New York City patient who describes her coronavirus recovery as a "miracle" was discharged from the hospital after a 61-day stay where she was hooked up to a ventilator for a month.

Jessenia Serrano, 43, was one of the first patients taken into NYU Langone Hospital with the coronavirus in March. The Brooklyn resident's husband was told by ambulance EMTs that he couldn't come with her to the hospital. It would be two months before Serrano saw a member of her family.

When Serrano was being wheeled out of NYU Langone this month, she wasn't told that the doctors, nurses and other health care workers who kept her alive would be cheering for her along with her family.

"I felt so alone in the hospital for those two months," Serrano told Patch. "It was such a great feeling to know I had so much support and so much help. They were great, great, great with me from ICU down to rehab."

Serrano spent her entire 61-day recovery from the coronavirus at NYU Langone. Her team of doctors determined it would be best not to move her to a separate rehab facility because of the intensity of her treatment in the hospital. Serrano was hooked up to a ventilator for a month, and her breathing was aided by a tracheostomy tube after being removed from the machine. The 43-year-old had to be fed through a tube for 45 straight days, causing her to lose 35 pounds, she told Patch.

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Waking up on the ventilator was a particularly jarring experience for Serrano, who relied on her parents to explain what was happening to her on FaceTime.

"I was so hurt and confused, because I didn't even know how I got there," Serrano said. "My mom had to tell me. But it was a terrible, terrible feeling where I couldn't speak, I was in bed for months and I couldn't walk. It was a really scary experience."

Serrano told Patch that her recovery from the virus — which has killed 16,565 New York City residents with an additional 4,749 probable deaths according to the city Health Department — was a "miracle." Just four years ago, Serrano had to be placed into a medically induced coma for nearly a month after her lungs collapsed. While in the hospital, Serrano saw other patients who never suffered from lung problems die, which "scared her so much."

"They didn't expect me to live, and I did," Serrano said.

Serrano's father, Jose Matos — who works as facility manager at Patch — said the day of his daughter's discharge was one of the happiest in his life. He traveled from his Bronx home to ensure that his daughter's home was fully sanitized and safe for her discharge. He's also spreading the word in his neighborhood that the coronavirus isn't to be underestimated.

"It was hard, it was hard on my wife. Then just to get that last text from her the day she went in, the day she went to the hospital, she said: 'Dad I'm scared. I'm by myself here,' Matos said. "That broke my heart, that so many families are going through this."

Serrano said that she has been feeling much better since her discharge from the hospital. She's trying to stay at home as much as possible, and her family is helping her with tasks such as grocery shopping whenever they are able to do so.

"I feel really good, I have to carry around oxygen, but that's not for too long, hopefully," Serrano said. "It feels good to be home, and I feel good."

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