Man endures 5 surgeries, spends 7 months in the hospital after complications from COVID-19

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) – A 25-year-old man will get to go home Wednesday after spending more than half a year in hospital and enduring several surgeries due to complications from COVID-19.

According to WTVG, Marcus Hartford thought he had a seasonal cold in April but ultimately tested positive for COVID.

Hartford was put on a ventilator and placed into a medically-induced coma for more than a month.

“One night I couldn’t breathe,” Harford said. “They told us more than multiple times that I wasn’t going to make it.”

Hartford ended up in hospitals for seven months and has had a total of five surgeries.

“I currently only have technically one lung,” Hartford explained, adding he had no pre-existing conditions and no compromised immune system before testing positive for COVID.

Now, he is trying to rebuild strength after spending months lying in a hospital bed.

“When I first remember coming to, like I couldn’t move my arms, couldn’t move my legs. You know, I could barely move my neck,” Hartford said.

The chef, who turned 25 while he was in a coma, is preparing to go home this week. He credits his surgeon with saving his life and making his return possible.

“He did a lot of things. He did what he could, and I’m alive today,” Hartford said. “You know, he thinks I’m a miracle and always says that because of how bad it really got.”