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Ricky Hamm, a 50-year-old medevac helicopter pilot, used a walker to walk through the sliding doors on Friday afternoon towards his car parked outside the UAB hospital. A nephew was holding a welcome sign and police motorcycles were waiting with flashing lights to escort him home. Hamm paused briefly to answer reporters’ questions.
“At the moment it’s still a bit surreal,” said Hamm, who first fell ill in January. “It’s been a long journey. I guess I didn’t really understand that this is coming to an end. But it’s slowly starting to give me butterflies.
Family members and first responders cheered, as Hamm was released on Friday. His total stay of 187 days is the longest for any COVID patient treated at UAB.
Hamm’s journey was not only long, but it was also exceptionally busy. He spent nearly five months in intensive care, harnessed to an ECMO machine – which stands for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The machine draws a patient’s blood, filters the carbon dioxide, adds oxygen and pumps it again, allowing the heart and lungs to rest.
Patients on ECMO have tubes surgically inserted into the veins and arteries and should be closely monitored for infection and organ failure.
“ECMO is a complicated and complex procedure,” said Dr. Keith Wille, medical director of the Adult ECMO Program at UAB. “It’s invasive and not very fun for the patient. In this case, it saved his life. But believe me; you don’t want to go to ECMO.
Hamm not only spent over six months in the hospital, he spent a total of 147 days on ECMO – much longer than the average patient.
Hamm left the hospital with an oxygen tank and hearing aids. He suffered hearing loss during his battle with COVID but was able to answer questions using a listening device and his wife, Shannon Hamm. She said her husband spent months on the brink of death before finally turning the corner.
“He had a lot of support from his family and friends,” said Shannon Hamm. “At first we didn’t know how it was going to turn out. He was basically beside himself for about four months. Once he woke up and joined the fight, things improved a lot. Then we knew he was going to do it.
Hamm worked as a medevac helicopter pilot for 17 years and has transported many sick and injured people to the UAB over the years. He and several colleagues fell ill with COVID in January, right after receiving the first dose of the vaccine. Hamm felt his first symptoms on January 5 and entered the hospital on January 10.
“When it all started, we just thought we would be here for a few weeks and it won’t be that long,” Shannon Hamm. “But it turned into a long ordeal.”
Hamm said he believed he was already infected with the virus when he received the vaccine and urged residents of Alabama to do everything possible to avoid contracting COVID, including getting the vaccine. . Alabama has the lowest COVID vaccination rate in the country.
“I believe in the vaccine,” he said. “I think I already had the virus before I got the vaccine, before it could work to protect me. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what I’ve been through.
Hamm and his wife said he was fortunate to be treated at UAB, where he had access to ECMO and other advanced treatments. His supporters donned matching shirts to celebrate his 51st birthday the day after his release. They erupted into applause as he got into the car and drove home.
“He has a family now,” Shannon Hamm said of the UAB staff.
In addition to his birthday, Hamm said he was looking forward to enjoying his new home, which was under construction when he entered the hospital.
“We built it to live the rest of our lives,” he said. “Ramps built and wide doors. No stairs. It was for when we got older. I didn’t expect to need disabled access so soon.
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