70-year-old man spends 45 days at Kaiser Permanente, beats COVID-19

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Signs of support lined the hallway as cheers filled the room for 70-year-old Ronald Hill.

In the end, he and his wife embraced for the first time in more than a month, celebrating his victory in the battle against COVID-19.

"I'm grateful to be alive," Hill said.

Hill was discharged from Kaiser Permanente on Tuesday.

He checked into the hospital on March 28, just two days after he tested positive.

Family members say he had a cough and sore throat after a trip to Los Angeles and went to the hospital.

Soon after, he took a turn for the worst, developing a bacterial infection while fighting the virus.

"With the severity of his symptoms, he had to be paralyzed to be able to let his lungs recover from the infection," says Dr. Robert Ferdman. "In the ICU, he developed a stroke as well."

"I was in the hospital and all of a sudden I was in intensive care," Hill said.

Until Hill slowly starting showing signs of improvement.

"Slowly, we saw signs of improvement with the antibiotics and some of the treatments," Dr. Ferdman said.

Soon, doctors were able to remove his tracheal tube. Hill was eating and sitting up on his own.

He's officially COVID-free after 45 days in the hospital.

"To see how he looked today, it was a miracle," says John Hill, Ronald's brother.

And as he left, he shared a warning for others to heed.

"If you haven't been checked out, go get checked out," he said.

Hill now heads to rehab to strengthen his legs before he gets to return home.