Man survives COVID-19, celebrates with friends, after being in medically-induced coma
Bud Johnson is grateful to be alive.
On Saturday, he celebrated his recovery with friends near and far following a long, grueling fight with COVID-19.
"I went to the hospital a couple of days after my birthday, and the next thing I know, they're talking about how I'm getting ready to die," Bud said.
Bud recently turned 71 years old.
At the end of March, he was diagnosed with the coronavirus and placed in the ICU at the Christ Hospital in Cincinnati.
"It's been kind of nerve-wracking, especially when they told me he was on a ventilator, and then they had to put him in a coma," Bud's wife, Iola Johnson, said.
Family and friends were unable to see him for 40 days during his darkest hours.
That changed Saturday afternoon when more than 100 people surprised Bud with a welcome home parade as he's slowly gaining his strength back.
"We're just coming out here trying to support him, let him know that he has a lot of love," Bud's friend Carl Tuck said.
People were holding signs and honking their horns, the line of cars, seemingly never ending.
Bud suffers from an underlying health condition and has a defibrillator.
Even more of a reason he's thankful to be here today.
"The doctor said to me, 'You must be strong because it didn't go off, so we're going to work with you because you're going to make it,'" Bud said.
He's looking forward to a healthier future and urges everyone to stay safe.
"I just want everyone to protect themselves protect their children and do what you gotta do to stay alive," Bud said.
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