St. Francis coronavirus patient is on the way home after leaving ICU treatment

A St. Francis COVID-19 patient is on her way home after being taken off a ventilator and moved to a normal hospital floor.

In a YouTube video uploaded by the hospital Thursday, Olive Vidalkendall was wheeled through the hallway of the hospital while nurses and other medical staff cheered and wished her well.

Vidalkendall is the first known coronavirus patient at St. Francis to be removed from a ventilator in the ICU and moved to a room in the normal part of the hospital.

She isn’t the only person that has recovered in the area. 48-year-old Tony Thornton left the ICU at East Alabama Medical Center on Wednesday.

Thornton became the first COVID-19 patient at EAMC to recover well enough to be removed from ventilation and moved from the ICU to a regular medical room. Thornton, who lives in Auburn, was admitted to EAMC on March 20.

In addition to Thornton being moved out of ICU, 29 other hospitalized COVID-19 patients have been discharged from EAMC, the hospital reports.