‘Praying for’ beloved doc
Treated at hosp where he works
Dr. Arnold Weg, a 63-year-old internist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell on the Upper East Side, is no stranger to health emergencies.
But after being coughed on by a patient he was treating several weeks ago, he found himself in a crisis of his own — stricken with COVID-19 in the same hospital where he’s worked for years.
Now, his wife, Susan Weg, is profoundly worried, though relieved he was moved out of the intensive care unit Sunday.
“I’m a mess,” she told the Daily News on Monday. “I’m hopeful. I’m thrilled that he was moved out of the ICU last night on to another floor that has very close monitoring.”
The family lobbied for the use of remdesivir, a medication under trial as a possible treatment for the illness. The hospital had enough doses for only 11 patients, but they were able to get the approval to give Dr. Weg the treatment, his wife said.
“As fast as it came and is getting a little better, it could go the other way. He’s not out of the woods, he hasn’t turned that corner yet,” Susan Weg said. “He was able to start the trial yesterday of remdesivir.”
Susan Weg said her husband is now wearing a nasal cannula — a device that increases airflow for a person in need of respiratory assistance. He has not needed to be intubated, but he’s still having a hard time breathing and can barely talk.
“It’s quite scary. We’re happy that he got the remdesivir yesterday and that’s hopeful for the other patients,” she said. “Hopefully it’s helping. The virus is so new that nobody really knows how anything works.” True to his character, Arnold Weg is still working from the hospital. “He was on his computer yesterday, I’m sure looking at his patients’ labs and seeing what he can do,” she laughed.
It was his dedication to work that made him sick in the first place, she believes.
“A patient came in with a cough before everything hit the fan. He saw the patient and the patient coughed in his direction,” Susan Weg said. “My husband was not wearing a mask, because people weren’t really wearing masks at that time.”
A few days later, Dr. Weg had coronavirus symptoms including a cough, fever and chills.
His wife brought him to the hospital at 1 a.m. on Wednesday after his condition worsened over time. “They’re taking great care of him, he’s very well loved there. The doctors and nurses have been incredible,” she said, noting that it’s a strange role reversal for her husband, who teaches residents and fellows and sometimes does procedures at the hospital.
“He’s always going in to see patients,” she said. “It’s the other side of the coin.”
After her sons shared his story on social media, the family got more than 3,000 messages of support. “Patients saying that they’re praying for him, that he saved their lives … it’s been quite overwhelming for all of us,” she said. “We’re up all night trying to say thank you to all of them. He’s an old-time doctor that you’re not going to see anymore these days.”
Outside his medical practice, Arnold Weg is a fitness fanatic — he’s run 30 marathons and ridden several 100-mile bike rides. “He’s fit and strong, and I think that’s what’s gotten him through this so far,” she said. She also credits his fighting spirit to his parents, who are Holocaust survivors. His 94year-old mother is still alive.
The couple lives in Queens and have been together since they met on an airplane on their way to a teen tour of Israel and Europe when they were both 17.
Last Saturday, they celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary. They have four sons together and six grandchildren.
“He was very scared at the beginning and still is,” Susan Weg said of her husband’s illness. “He wants to come home.”