MIAMI (WSVN) - An officer’s fight with COVID forced him to undergo a risky lifesaving procedure.
After a seven-month stay at the hospital following his bout with COVID and a double lung transplant, Officer Frank Sangineto walked out of the hospital Tuesday.
“When I woke up from my coma, I couldn’t move, so that was the first thought that I had, was getting used to my new life,” said Sangineto.
It has been a long road full of challenges since August, when Sangineto was first admitted to the hospital after catching COVID, and ending up on a ventilator.
Doctors soon realized the damage to Sangineto’s lungs were so severe that he would need a lung transplant to survive. The goal then was to get Sangineto strong enough to undergo that surgery.
“Just think, you have to get the patient ready now, undergoing this massive surgical trauma, and then bounce back with new lungs so they can recover,” said Dr. Tiago Machuca.
“As well as regaining function, cognitive function, relearning how to do everything in your daily life,” said physical therapist Brady Anderson.
“You are inspirational, you are our angel, you are our hero. Every word that you can think of, you are it,” said nurse Lourdes Diaz.
“We were able to witness these men and women coming together on a day to day basis to make sure that our family is taken care of,” said Rene Garcia, Sangineto’s cousin.
With that community of support, and after months of hard work…
“I’m overjoyed. I overcame this, and I’m going home,” said Sangineto.
Sangineto is doing just that and soon after going back to his passion of 25 years: serving the community.
“I wanna go back. That was my passion,” said Sangineto.
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