Amy Schmidt, the founder of Fearlessly Facing Fifty hosts a weekly podcast that digs deep into conversations about the issues that we face at midlife and beyond. Since launching in September of 2019, Amy has interviewed ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
This week's podcast interview is personal and timely. It offers a glimmer of hope, just when our community, and the world, need it most.
Connecticut COVID-19 Patient Zero: Chris Tillett and his wife, Elizabeth
Amy shares the story of Wilton residents Chris Tillett and his wife, Elizabeth. Chris arrived home from the hospital in late March after fighting for his life due to COVID-19 diagnosis. Chris is considered Connecticut's patient zero. At Danbury Hospital, he was intubated, eventually weaned from the vent, and came back life having to relearn simple tasks.
In this podcast, his wife Elizabeth takes us back to the beginning and tells the story of how she drove home from the hospital after Chris was admitted, not knowing how she was going to care for infant twins while remaining isolated from her husband.
- 2:49 Chris talks about how he was feeling and the symptoms he was experiencing
- 7:23 When Chris was admitted to Danbury Hospital and classified as Patient Zero
- 11:22 In Chris's words (what it means to be intubated and breathing with the help of a ventilator)
- 15:52 Elizabeth's voice as she has to care for 5-month-old twins, stay in isolation and receive updates from healthcare providers on her husband's progress.
- 18:50 When Chris was taken off the ventilator and what he felt (in his own words)
- 25:03. The power of community