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For nurses appreciation week, I was asked to speak at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center to thank the nurses for what they did for me during my stay at the hospital for COVID-19. 



<b>FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.</b> — For nurses appreciation week, I was asked to speak at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center on Thursday to thank the nurses for what they did for me during my stay at the hospital for COVID-19.

Many of you will recall<a href="https://www.wral.com/video/wrals-gilbert-baez-shares-his-covid-19-story-while-fighting-the-virus-in-the-hospital/19847754/"> I spent nine days at Cape Fear last August fighting COVID-19</a>. My battle continues, but I am getting better thanks to the doctors and nurses who came up with a treatment plan for my recovery.

Working in healthcare can be a thankless job, one you can't appreciate until you need a nurse.

For national nurse appreciation week, WRAL Fayetteville Reporter Gilbert Baez thanked nurses at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where he spent nine days last year battilng COVID-19 

this is your bed, This is your treatment. This is for you. And I was feeling kind of remorse. I had remorse. Like survivor's remorse. That, that I shouldn't be here? And all of you encourage me to get better to help my body get better. So, you know, when they asked me if I would come and thank you, I didn't hesitate. Well, this is nurses week. This is rating period for television, television news. All hands on deck. No vacation time. This is where we we have to we can't be away from work. Um, so I bought work here. Michael joins our photographer. He's in the back and this will be a story on WRL because it's important to tell them. There's his story. There's a lot of doctors and that helped do what we do. But you guys are on the front line, the bottom line. Um, I was over in kuwait during the first gulf war and I did a story on the Mash unit over there. These were reserved people who were nurses living in a tent taking care of our soldiers. And I remember, excuse me, I'm sorry, but I it kind of choked up behind this. It's just to see the nurses in a mass unit providing care not only for our soldiers, but for the rockies as well. You guys don't care who gets hurt. You care who gets better. And that that says who you are. So And keeping in my 10 minutes of being here, I've asked if Kelly was here, I acknowledge Ashley and I've done all the things I can do. What I'd like to do is if you had anything to do with my care, would you raise your hand if you remember being here at all? Is are any of the nurses that had anything to do with last year? I did Euro two assessment. Thank you. I just wanted to personally say thank you to anyone who had personal connections to me and for all the people who were here and back home. Thank you. I do the stories about you. I'm going to do a story today but we can't say enough words to acknowledge what you do on a daily basis. There there are no words. And it really and in many cases not much understanding about it. When you have patients who are concerned, I can't see my patient. I want to have more visitations. The food is not good. And by the way the food was very good. Um I lost a lot of weight just because of covid. But I always enjoyed getting the call from the the the city meal services. And and they asked me did I want to plan what did I want for my next meal. But boy, I tell you it was kind of brighten your day. But when you have a tough time getting in the shower to take a shower, you just don't understand how important it is that the job that you provide for everyone either nursing the doctors, housekeeping. All the folks here, the team that you are hand in hand to make it. So someone like me who was on the deathbed who pulled through and I say that because just yesterday I went to my lung specialist, I developed just to bring you up to date on where I am now in March. I developed covid fibrosis and pneumonia and I had to be on antibiotics. And um I was having a difficult time breathing. I'm a four minute miler from college. I'm 67 years. I'll be 67 in August and I think part of my health uh resilience and being able to get through as my athletic ability from all those years in college, running track and cross country and playing basketball. And so for me not to be able to run or have a difficult time breathing is significant, it is really significant. You don't understand what that's like when you can't walk for, you know, five steps without being out of breath. So my uh I finally got a chance to see a a lung specialist yesterday and it was day before yesterday, day before yesterday and he pulled up my cat scan from when I was here and showed me how close to death I was and I didn't realize how much pneumonia I had in my lungs until he showed me the layers of it and how bad it was. I didn't I couldn't see that. I couldn't feel that I didn't, I didn't know how bad it was. Um and then we took a picture in March and we saw the significant development where I'm getting better. And so my body is improving and it's all thanks to you guys, uh that, you know, I'm not on any drugs right now other than medication for diabetics being a diabetic, but nothing from my lungs, no inhalers or anything like that. No steroids on any regular basis. And and all of it had to do with the with the service that was provided here. My oldest brother Albert, I told him about Remdesivir. He was in new york. He got covid was hospitalized. He didn't listen to the nurses. He went home before he should have. And now he's on oxygen for the rest of his life because he didn't listen to the advice that you guys were giving. So again, I appreciate you inviting me. Thank you so much for what you do. Your work continues because the numbers are getting ready to go back up. But you're prepared. You are experts at what you do. And I love that quote. You save one person. You're you're a hero. You saved hundreds. You're here. You're you're a nurse. That's gonna be my story at night. Thank you. Thank you very much

Maggie Brown

Michael Joyner

Gilbert Baez

WRAL's Gilbert Baez thanks nurses who took care of him during COVID hospital stay 

WRAL's Gilbert Baez thanks nurses at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center for national nurse appreciation week

I didn't realize how bad my condition was until this week, when I went in for a check-up with my pulmonologist. He pulled up my CAT scan from when I was hospitalized and showed me just how close to death I was.

My body is now improving, and that's all because of the team at Cape Fear.

Chief Nursing Executive Debbie Marshburn told me on Thursday, "If you save one life, you're a hero. If you save hundreds of lives, you're a nurse."

To all the nurses who worked with me, I want to personally say thank you for helping me get well again.

WRAL Fayetteville reporter Gilbert Baez spent 9 days in the hospital and is looking forward to further recovery in his own chair.

DEFIES A SHOT ALREADY HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED FOR BOOSTERS AT EIGHT MONTHS. AT THIS POINT, NO WORD ON WHEN THE JOHNSON & JOHNSON BOOSTER SHOT COULD BE AVAILABLE. >>> NEARLY 8600 COVID CASES WERE REPORTED TODAY IN NORTH CAROLINA. WE ARE NEARING THE NUMBERS WE SAW IN JANUARY WHEN COLIN WAS AT ITS PEAK. 3800 PEOPLE ARE HOSPITALIZED AT IT. THAT IS THE MOST THAT WE HAVE SEEN SINCE JANUARY 2. THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF HOSPITALIZATIONS WE EVER SAW WAS 3992, JUST 5% BELOW THAT TODAY. OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED A WIDE, 23% HAVE COVID AND ICUs, 31% OF PATIENTS ARE BAILING THE VIRUS. ONE OF OUR OWN HAS BEEN PART OF THE HOSPITALIZATION MORE THAN WEEK. TODAY, WE FINALLY RECEIVED THE NEWS WE REALLY NEEDED TO HERE. GILBERT BAEZ IS GOING HOME. HERE IS A WINDOW INTO HIS COVID- 19 FIGHT. >> MY DISCHARGE ON THE SCREEN. I'M GOING HOME. >> Reporter: GILBERT BAEZ GOT THE NEWS HE AND WE HAVE WAITED NINE DAYS TO HERE. THIS WAS THE MOMENT HE WAS RELEASED FROM CAPE FEAR VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER. A HUGE STEP IN THE LONG BATTLE COVID-19. >> I AM IN GREAT SPIRITS THANKS TO ALL OF YOU. I TOLD YOU YOU WOULD BE THE FIRST TO KNOW THAT I AM GOING HOME. >> Reporter: IT HAS BEEN AN EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL JOURNEY. HE HAS LOST MORE THAN 20 POUNDS AND STRUGGLED TO GET HIS OXYGEN LEVELS IT. SPOT THIS MORNING THEY TOOK ME ON A WALKING TEST. >> Reporter: HE HAD TO KEEP OXYGEN LEVELS IN THE 80s TO BE RELEASED. AND AVID PHILADELPHIA DAVID, HE MADE A FITTING REQUEST. >> I PULLED A ROCKY. I HAVE THE TIGER. I TOLD THE NURSE TO PLAY THIS AS I WALKED. IT IS INSPIRATIONAL. >> Reporter: NURSES CHEERED HIM ON ALONG WITH YOU AT HOME. >> IT IS STILL A LONG FIGHT. BUT I AM READY FOR THE BATTLE. >> Reporter: BATTLE STRENGTHENED BY GETTING HIS TWO VACCINES DOSES EARLIER THIS YEAR. >> GOD IS GOOD. SO IS THAT DOUG ON VACCINE. >> SO GREAT TO SEE HIM OUT OF THE HOSPITAL. GILBERT AND HIS WIFE TESTED POSITIVE DAYS AFTER HIS 66th BIRTHDAY PARTY. ALL 10 FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO ATTENDED THE PARTY WERE VACCINATED TWO ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL AND NOW WE CAN

Jodi Leese Glusco

After bout with COVID, pnuemonia, Gilbert Baez is going home!

Unfortunately, there is a nursing shortage across the country that experts say is only going to get worse. Many nurses are nearing the age of retirement, and there aren't enough people entering the profession.

I want to encourage all the nurses reading this to keep up the fight. Your work saves an innumerable amount of lives and you are appreciated.

Nurses Week runs from May 6 to May 12 marked by the birthday of Florence Nightingale. She set the vision for nursing as a profession and established principles for nursing education.

Gilbert Baez: Thank you Cape Fear nurses for saving my life 

Cape Fear Valley Medical Center honors nurses during appreciation week 

Gilbert Baez,National Nurses Week,coronavirus

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