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PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - A Broward County schoolteacher battling COVID-19 in the hospital for several weeks has been taken off a ventilator and placed on oxygen after she received a drug that has showed promise against the virus in clinical trials.
Stefanie Miller, a 53-year-old teacher at Fox Trail Elementary School and animal rescuer, had been on a ventilator for three weeks.
Faye, her mother, wondered if her daughter, who has children of her own, would ever return home.
“Oh, I had many of those fears, but I never voiced them out loud, agonizing,” she said.
After a plasma donation did not seem to help in her fight against the virus, Miller’s family became desperate.
“I’m scared. I just need her to get well,” Faye said.
On Saturday, her doctors began a 10-day protocol of the drug Remdesivir. Her mother received a call from the hospital on Monday.
“He said, ‘I have some news for you, but you have to be very, very calm,'” she said.
The doctor then pointed the camera towards Miller, who was sitting up on her hospital bed.
“She was sitting up in bed, the vent was out,” Faye said. “She had oxygen on. What a thrilling moment.”
Miller was able to listen in on a video call with her mother and other family members.
Although the journey ahead is likely a long one, her mother is thankful it appears the drug made a difference, along with “her strong will and determination.”
Faye said Miller’s body is weak from her recovery, so she will need physical therapy. She added that she will also need therapy to help her because she had the ventilator in for a long time, so her vocal cords have likely suffered through the recovery.
It remains unknown when the 53-year-old will be allowed to leave the hospital.
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