Surviving COVID-19: Patterson man spent months in hospital, won battle for his life

Frank Percy Jones is one of the lucky ones, and he has quite the story to tell.
The Patterson resident was diagnosed with COVID-19 in late March and subsequently was placed in a medically induced coma. He stayed on a ventilator for about a month and took nearly another month to fully regain consciousness, all part of a 98-day hospital stay.
Complicating matters, Frank is a diabetic with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and high blood pressure.
On Tuesday afternoon, he sat in his wheelchair at his home with wife Monica nearby as he recounts what the last four-plus months have been like.
“I don’t even (normally) get sick,” he said. “My birthday is Friday. I’ll be 61, and you know this is the most exciting birthday I ever had because I didn’t think I was going to make it.”
His battle started in March, days before he tested positive. He was having trouble breathing and was feeling chills. He said he initially tested negative at the hospital and returned home.
“In the meantime, he never got better,” Monica said.
So he soon returned to the hospital on March 24, where he was determined to be a positive case.
Dr. Eric Melancon, his family physician and the St. Mary Parish coroner who is leading the parish’s efforts to battle COVID-19, told Frank he was putting him in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit on a ventilator.
“Then my world was shattered from that day on,” Monica said. “I couldn’t see him, couldn’t talk to him. All I had to do was rely on Dr. Melancon calling me two, three times a day telling me how he was doing. Some days it was good. Some days it was bad.”
Jones remained on a ventilator from March 24 until April 23, when he started to slowly wake up.
In all, he spent 45 days in Ochsner St. Mary during his initial stay.
Monica didn’t see her husband for nearly two months, and then only got to see him with special permission.
She suited up, like those caring for him would, and when he saw her May 9, he recognized her but still didn’t know what had gone on.
While Frank was fighting for his life, Monica also contracted COVID-19 in April and briefly was hospitalized locally with the virus.
During his time in ICU and after, Frank was put on dialysis because he had lost kidney function. However, he later regained used of them and no longer requires dialysis.
After leaving Ochsner St. Mary, Frank went to AMG Specialty Hospital in Houma, where he was to begin rehab. But he couldn’t because he spent his entire time in quarantine because he kept testing positive for COVID.
Finally, he was cleared of COVID, and he was brought back to Ochsner St. Mary, where he began first in-patient rehab and now continues out-patient therapy.
When he returned to Ochsner St. Mary, Frank said he couldn’t turn over or pull himself up or sit down. Now, he still uses a wheelchair and a walker, but he can sit up, clean himself and walk short distances.
“Those guys, that’s the most outstanding and advanced therapy that I ever seen, and they’re pushing you,” he said. “They push you.”
His gratitude extends to the community, too.
“I had all these people praying, and they kept telling me, ‘Mr. Frank, you’re a walking miracle.’ … I know the prayers from all of these churches and from these people, they worked,” Frank said, also crediting God.
Frank and Monica also credit Melancon for his work.
“He’s a lifesaver,” Monica said. “He saved his life.”
On June 30, Frank finally returned home after more than three months.
It’s something Monica said was his biggest accomplishment.
In addition to having to relearn basic skills, he has lost about 60 pounds and still struggles with use of his hands.
“I can’t even open a bottle of water,” he said. “It hurts my hands.”
While COVID has brought a lot of challenges, ironically, not every effect has been.
Frank has been a diabetic since 1998, and now, 60 pounds lighter, he has been able to stop taking the 13 pills and two daily shots he required before COVID. He lost his taste for sweets.
Frank urges people to practice social distancing and “all I can tell you is to mask up, wash up and glove up. This thing is real.
“I spent 98 days in that hospital fighting for my life, and people think that this is a joke. This is not a joke.”