The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Fanfare as longest-staying coronavirus patient at Danbury Hospital discharged
DANBURY — After the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, John Reed was put in charge of firefighters from outside New York City.
So, when the New Rochelle deputy fire chief became sick with the coronavirus, his sons trusted he was strong and would get better.
“He can make it through ground zero of that,” his son Matthew Reed said. “He can make it through ground zero of this.”
And he did.
On Friday afternoon, he was discharged from Danbury Hospital to the cheers and applause of dozens of masked New Rochelle, N.Y., firefighters and hospital staff. Danbury fire trucks were lined up at the hospital entrance.
At 56 days, he had the longest stay of any COVID-19 patient at Danbury Hospital.
“Thank you for being our superhero, John Reed,” read a sign held by his wife,
Suzanne Reed. “We love you.”
When he was wheeled out of the hospital on a stretcher, his wife clapped before running toward him and kissing him with their masks on.
As he was wheeled out further, his sister came forward and gripped his arm.
“I’m so happy for you,” sister Jamie Reed said.
John Reed, wearing a yellow mask, nodded at the crowd before he was put into an ambulance to go to Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, a rehabilitation hospital in Wallingford.
Reed, who has been a firefighter for about 35 years, is one of many New Rochelle firefighters to be diagnosed with COVID-19, Fire Chief Andrew Sandor said. The department’s captain, Andrew DiMaggio, died from the virus.
This makes Reed’s recovery all the more meaningful, Sandor said.
“Not only are we glad he’s over COVID, he’s just a beloved guy,” said Sandor, adding Reed has had a great impact on the department, from the equipment it uses to the way the firefighters do business.
He has known Reed for 25 years, and Reed is his son’s godfather.
“We’re very close,” Sandor said. “John taught me a lot.”
Reed was also a longtime Boy Scout leader in Carmel, N.Y., and is known for being the “first person to jump to help if you ask,” Matthew Reed said.
He loves the outdoors, traveling and his motorcycle, the son said. Four motorcycles followed the ambulance and other vehicles out of the hospital property.
“I know he can’t wait to get on that (motorcycle) when he’s strong enough,” Matthew Reed said.
New Rochelle was the epicenter of the outbreak in the region, with a 1-mile containment zone being set up in the city.
When John Reed got sick around mid-March, he tried to self-quarantine in his room, but was eventually taken to the hospital for observation due to other complications, his sons said. The family was told he could go home the day after he was admitted.
“At first, it wasn’t a huge deal,” Matthew Reed said. “We weren’t too concerned.”
But then he was put on a ventilator and spent 27 days in a medically induced coma, son Jeff Reed said. He has been off the ventilator for about a week and a half.
Jamie Reed said it meant “everything” to see him leave the hospital.
“I am full of gratitude for God,” she said.
John’s sons said their dad does not like fanfare, but that he was not given a choice on Friday.
“He definitely has touched a lot of people,” Jeff Reed said.