A Georgia coronavirus patient says he thought he was dying on Wednesday night. Then he felt God 'breathe life' into his lungs.
Haven Orecchio-Egresitz Mar 17, 2020, 2:49 PM
6-8 minutes
https://www.insider.com/georgia-man-credits-god-for-recovery-from-coronavirus-2020-3
Clay Bentley, of Rome, Georgia, tested positive for the coronavirus on March 6.
He came down with a fever the morning after singing in a choir at a church event.
His symptoms were so severe that he struggled to breathe and couldn't sit up.
Last week, after a particularly rough night, he turned the corner and now feels back to himself. He credits God for his recovery.
At times Clay Bentley struggled to breathe. A fever cramped his body, making him feel week and unable to stand up on his own. He could feel his lungs fill up with fluid.
Bentley, of Rome, Georgia, had been hospitalized with the coronavirus since March 6.
On Tuesday, after what the longtime sheriff described as a miraculous turnaround, he began feeling better and was being released from the hospital. Bentley credits God for his recovery.
"What kept me going? I just have had to spend a lot of time with the lord," Bentley told Insider, while waiting to be discharged. "I've never been this sick in my entire life … He's healed my body and I'm ready to be a witness. I'm ready to be alive for Him."
Bentley is in his late 50s and has rheumatoid arthritis, but remains active. He's an avid golfer and sings in a church choir. It was the night after he'd sung in a 100-person choir at The Church at Liberty Square in Cartersville, Georgia, on March 1 that he woke up with a fever and shortness of breath.
He went to a local urgent care center and a doctor referred him to the emergency room at Redmond Regional Medical Center. After going through a series of tests that came back negative, he was sent home. On Friday, he was feeling so sick that he went back to the emergency room and was tested for coronavirus, he said. It came back positive.
It got worse before it got better
In the hospital, Bentley was quarantined to his room and only had contact with the nurses in protective gear.
"I got to the point I couldn't breathe at all. I had cold chills. I had no energy," Bentley told Insider. "I'd go to stand up to walk up across the room, I couldn't even go from a sitting to a standing position."
Bentley said that by Wednesday night, he felt like he was not going to survive. He was in pain and struggling to breathe.
Then at 3 a.m., he felt a heavy pressure on his chest, Bentley described. "I felt this man breathe life into my lungs," he said.
The next morning, the doctor had told him that the fluid in his lungs had significantly decreased, Bentley said. "It's been a long journey," Bentley said. "God has healed my body."
Suzy and Clay Bentley provided by Clay Bentley
Suzy Bentley is ready to have her husband home
Bentley's wife, Suzy, told Insider that she had never doubted that her husband would recover, but that she broke down in tears when she learned he was finally coming home.
"I knew he was coming home. It was just a matter of when," Suzy Bentley told Insider. "When I heard he was coming home two days ago, it was kind of a miracle thing. I fell apart with the good news."
For the last 24 hours, Suzy Bentley has been deep cleaning the master bedroom and bathroom, where her husband will be quarantined for the next two weeks.
She even set a coffee maker up inside the suite.
"That's the biggest thing he's probably missed the most," she said.
Suzy Bentley has been quarantined at their home since her husband's test came back positive, but hasn't been symptomatic or tested herself. Family members have left packages for her on the porch and she has kept in contact with them by phone or FaceTime.
When Bentley first got sick, neither he or his wife had been particularly concerned about the coronavirus because they hadn't traveled or heard about cases locally.
As of Tuesday, 124 people of Georgia had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and one of them has died, according to John Hopkins University.
Several other people at the large church where the choir event was held are among those who tested positive, Suzy Bentley said.
She believes that dozens who were at the church have since been tested and that the facility may be a "hot spot."
"That's going to be the scary news," she said.
The Church at Liberty Square has since closed and is offering their services online only.
An email seeking comment from the church wasn't immediately returned.
Suzy Bentley said that it was her faith that got her through the last few weeks and is thankful for the medical workers at the hospital where her husband was treated.
"They've done an awesome job," she said. "I will be praying for every one of them."