Alexandria first responder beats COVID-19 after 28 weeks in the hospital – WVTM13

As many of you know, before I became a news anchor, I spent 40 years as a sports anchor. Those 40 years gave me a chance to witness some of the greatest comebacks in sports, but as I sit here writing this story, I can honestly say that I have never witnessed a comeback story like this.Ricky Hamm, of Alexandria, Alabama, takes pride in saving lives. As a member of the Survival Flight helicopter crew, Ricky has seen it all: People in bad shape, fighting to survive.While delivering the sick and the injured to area hospitals, seconds can make the difference between life and death. Ricky has always been the strong one. Oh, he knows that being in his position puts him at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, but he's always careful.But when Ricky's oxygen level dropped into the 60s in early January? Ricky's fellow helicopter nurses and medics told him it was time for him to flip the script.Ricky Hamm was admitted to a Birmingham hospital on Jan. 10. It was mid-January, and COVID-19 was ravaging him.His wife Shannon was getting used to sleeping on that bench by the window. She'd do anything for Ricky, but hopes were fading as the weeks wore on.Ricky Hamm was miserable.The ventilator was the last thing he wanted, but it's the thing that he really needed. Until doctors removed the ventilator and tried an ECMO machine instead. The ECMO machine is similar to the heart-lung by-pass machine used in open-heart surgery. It pumps and oxygenates a patient's blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest.The weeks and the months wore on.Ricky underwent a tracheostomy- anything to help him breathe. Back came the ventilator, in and out six times.January became March which became April. Things only worsened.Septic Shock. Pulmonary fibrosis. Chest tubes everywhere. A massive bleed. The cardiac ICU. A doctor telling Shannon that Ricky's lungs were "destroyed." A hint from that doctor that Ricky might not make it through the night.The family gathering by Ricky's bedside. "God is not done!" Shannon cried out to the doctor. "We have faith -- this not the end!" Shannon sobbed into her pillow. The month of May had begun. The world doesn't know Ricky like Shannon knows Ricky. The long, humid days of June approached, and Ricky kept fighting.That sign that Shannon hung on Ricky's IV rack that read, "For nothing is impossible with God" was in Ricky's line of sight. Over the past several weeks, Ricky has climbed back. Therapy, drive, pure will.Two days ago Ricky put on his regular clothes and took a walk outside the hospital with the help of an aide.Six months. Twenty-eight weeks. Half of 2021. Yet, Ricky Hamm is climbing back.If all goes well, Ricky will be released from the hospital on Thursday. It will be a very emotional day for Ricky and Shannon.This Saturday will be Ricky's 51st birthday and he hopes to be well enough to check the progress of the new house that's being built. He can't wait to visit his 80 cows at the farm in Ohatchee.Ricky Hamm helps save lives for a living. He hopes to soon be back in the Survival Flight chopper, doing what he does.Until then, he's grateful to the doctors and nurses who helped him live. Grateful to his wife and his God for seeing him through.I've seen a lot of comebacks in my day, but this comeback could be one for the ages. A comeback by a man who refused to die.A man who will be the first to tell you that God is not done.

As many of you know, before I became a news anchor, I spent 40 years as a sports anchor.

Those 40 years gave me a chance to witness some of the greatest comebacks in sports, but as I sit here writing this story, I can honestly say that I have never witnessed a comeback story like this.

Ricky Hamm, of Alexandria, Alabama, takes pride in saving lives. As a member of the Survival Flight helicopter crew, Ricky has seen it all: People in bad shape, fighting to survive.

While delivering the sick and the injured to area hospitals, seconds can make the difference between life and death. Ricky has always been the strong one. Oh, he knows that being in his position puts him at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, but he's always careful.

But when Ricky's oxygen level dropped into the 60s in early January? Ricky's fellow helicopter nurses and medics told him it was time for him to flip the script.

Ricky Hamm was admitted to a Birmingham hospital on Jan. 10. It was mid-January, and COVID-19 was ravaging him.

His wife Shannon was getting used to sleeping on that bench by the window. She'd do anything for Ricky, but hopes were fading as the weeks wore on.

Ricky Hamm was miserable.

The ventilator was the last thing he wanted, but it's the thing that he really needed. Until doctors removed the ventilator and tried an ECMO machine instead. The ECMO machine is similar to the heart-lung by-pass machine used in open-heart surgery. It pumps and oxygenates a patient's blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest.

The weeks and the months wore on.

Ricky underwent a tracheostomy- anything to help him breathe. Back came the ventilator, in and out six times.

January became March which became April. Things only worsened.

Septic Shock. Pulmonary fibrosis. Chest tubes everywhere. A massive bleed. The cardiac ICU. A doctor telling Shannon that Ricky's lungs were "destroyed." A hint from that doctor that Ricky might not make it through the night.

The family gathering by Ricky's bedside. "God is not done!" Shannon cried out to the doctor. "We have faith -- this not the end!" Shannon sobbed into her pillow.

The month of May had begun.

The world doesn't know Ricky like Shannon knows Ricky. The long, humid days of June approached, and Ricky kept fighting.

That sign that Shannon hung on Ricky's IV rack that read, "For nothing is impossible with God" was in Ricky's line of sight.

Over the past several weeks, Ricky has climbed back. Therapy, drive, pure will.

Two days ago Ricky put on his regular clothes and took a walk outside the hospital with the help of an aide.

Six months. Twenty-eight weeks. Half of 2021. Yet, Ricky Hamm is climbing back.

If all goes well, Ricky will be released from the hospital on Thursday. It will be a very emotional day for Ricky and Shannon.

This Saturday will be Ricky's 51st birthday and he hopes to be well enough to check the progress of the new house that's being built. He can't wait to visit his 80 cows at the farm in Ohatchee.

Ricky Hamm helps save lives for a living. He hopes to soon be back in the Survival Flight chopper, doing what he does.

Until then, he's grateful to the doctors and nurses who helped him live.

Grateful to his wife and his God for seeing him through.

I've seen a lot of comebacks in my day, but this comeback could be one for the ages. A comeback by a man who refused to die.

A man who will be the first to tell you that God is not done.

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Alexandria first responder beats COVID-19 after 28 weeks in the hospital - WVTM13