Fox News Flash top headlines for April 20
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Michael Goldsmith, a 34-year-year-old coronavirus patient who was at the center of a high-profile struggle for an experimental drug treatment, is on the path to recovery and has returned home, his wife told Fox News.
“He’s doing great,” his wife Elana told Fox News via email, explaining that Michael is walking with a walker but is not on any oxygen. “He will be getting therapy at home and he’s very happy to be back with his family.”
Elana added that every day he is gaining more strength and his speech gets a little louder. “It will be a long road but he’s getting there.”
FAMILY OF 34-YEAR-OLD CORONAVIRUS PATIENT ON LIFE SUPPORT MAKES PLEA FOR EXPERIMENTAL DRUG
Goldsmith, a father of two, started showing symptoms on March 11 and was diagnosed as positive on March 15. Initially sent home for self-quarantine, his condition worsened and within days, he had 104.9-degree fever. He was admitted to the hospital on March 18. Doctors at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey intubated and ventilated the IT consultant on March 20.
34-year-old Michael Goldsmith. (Elana Goldsmith)
Numerous therapies, including antimalarials and antibiotics, failed, and Goldsmith’s family and members of the medical community made a desperate plea for the experimental coronavirus treatment remdesivir. A "Physician’s Petition" was also launched calling on President Trump to help Goldsmith get hold of remdesivir, which is developed by Gilead Sciences.
The family eventually stood down their fight for remdesivir. In a Facebook post on April 4, Goldsmith explained that, with Michael 25 days into his illness, it was not thought that remedesivir would make an impact on him. He had started treatment on Actemra, a drug used to rheumatoid arthritis, she explained.
REMDESIVIR: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT POTENTIAL CORONAVIRUS TREATMENT
Michael left the ICU at Hackensack University Medical Center on April 12. In a Facebook post on April 16, Elana explained that her husband is “slowly moving in the right direction.” She also posted a heartfelt letter to the medical staff who had been caring for Michael.
Michael and Elana Goldsmith. (Elana Goldsmith)
“Michael is literally a walking miracle. That miracle happened because of each and everyone of you,” she wrote. “I cannot even begin to imagine what your shifts are like or even what an hour is like in the MICU but you are saving people who matter to others and for that there are no words to properly and appropriately say thank you.”
“What I do want to say thank you for is thank you for not giving up on Michael,” Elana added. “Thank you for not just saying he's been out for too long. Thank you for keeping such a close eye on him and quickly reacting when new problems arose. Thank you for working together to come up with new options, therapies or ideas to help him come off the vent.”
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As of Monday morning, more than 2.42 million coronavirus cases have been diagnosed worldwide, at least 759,000 of which are in the U.S. The disease has accounted for at least 166,205 deaths around the world, including at least 40,683 people in the U.S.
Fox News’ Chris Ciaccia contributed to this article. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers