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Life After COVID-19

A Survivor's Journey of Hardship, Faith and Thanksgiving

“And I'll rise up, I'll rise like the day.

I'll rise up, I'll rise unafraid.

I'll rise up, in spite of the ache.”

Andra Day

In early 2020, local musician and educator James Story was on top of the world. He had recently retired as a music professor and former chair of the visual and performing arts department at Volunteer State Community College, culminating a career of over forty years that saw him earn international acclaim as a teacher, conductor and lecturer.

Unfettered from a daily work routine, James was now free to continue his pursuit of creating and staging his own musical productions, an area in which he had already enjoyed some success. His most recent project, “New World Spirituals,” had resulted in the release of a CD and a stage production during January.

James’ future looked bright – until the coronavirus.

“During mid-March, I started experiencing uncontrollable chills, fever and sweating,” recalls James. “I lost all sense of taste, had trouble breathing and was aching all over my body.”

At first, James thought that his symptoms would go away on their own. However, he soon realized that he was only getting worse.

“On March 19, I was so dehydrated that I went to the TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center ER, where I was admitted for observation,” says James. “In order to find out what was wrong with me, they ran a lot of tests, including a COVID-19 test, which came back positive.”

Despite the best efforts of his care team, James’ health continued to deteriorate rapidly. By March 23, his breathing issues had worsened to the point that he was moved to intensive care, where he was placed on a ventilator for 15 days.

Over the next month, James’ condition remained touch and go.

“It seemed that everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,” says James. “My lungs and my kidneys were failing, and many other organs were septic. My body was shutting down.”

After several more weeks of aggressive treatments, James’ condition began to improve. By the end of April, he was doing well enough to be transferred from Hendersonville to Select Specialty Hospital, an acute care facility in Nashville.

“I was very happy to leave the hospital,” says James. “However, I will be forever grateful to the doctors and nurses who took care of me at Hendersonville. They truly saved my life.”

James spent the next few weeks at Select Specialty Hospital, where he continued dialysis and received breathing treatments. He also underwent therapy to help him learn to swallow again.

In early May, James was doing well enough that he was moved to the inpatient rehabilitation unit at Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin.

“My care team at Gallatin was terrific,” recalls James. “They helped me achieve several milestones, including getting off dialysis, coming off oxygen and transitioning from a feeding tube to a normal diet.”

While at Sumner Regional, James also received extensive physical therapy to help him regain his strength.

“During my time in the hospital, I had lost so much muscle mass that I couldn’t stand or walk,” says James. “My physical therapists had to teach me how to walk again.”

By the end of May, James had regained enough strength to be released from rehab and to return to his home, a place that he had not seen in 71 days. Since that time, he has continued his therapy on an outpatient basis.

“My post-Covid-19 therapy includes home health care,” says James. “The nurses keep a close eye on my condition through regular monitoring of my vital signs, my medications and my exercise routine. They are helping me get back to living independently again.”

Since March, James has had a lot of time to reflect on how the coronavirus has impacted his life.

“I knew that I had been sick, but I never knew how bad things were until one of my doctors told me that fewer than 10% of patients survive what I went through,” says James. “He said that my healing was a miracle.”

James’ ordeal has also led him to ponder the spiritual nature of his recovery.

“There is a certain consolation that God is seen through my healing process,” says James. “I believe that the wonder of my healing can give hope and encouragement to others. I believe that there is a miracle within all of us.”

Along with his personal trials, James has also thought a lot about what his care team members were going through during his stay in the hospital.

“At Hendersonville, the medical staff became my surrogate family. While I was suffering from the coronavirus, my caregivers were also suffering,” recalls James. “Although everyone wore masks, I could still see the pain in their eyes from the stress of long hours and constant worry. It was hard to watch them work.”

However, despite the gloomy conditions, James’ care team went out of their way to make him as comfortable as possible.

“One day, the nurses found out that I was a musician, and they decided to add a little music to my treatment,” recalls James fondly. “They bought a CD player and brought in all kinds of music to play for me. They were angels.”

James is also thankful for the love and compassion shown to him by the community.

“My family, friends, students and professional colleagues have all been a part of my healing process through their thoughts and prayers,” says James. I will be eternally grateful for their support.”

Despite his progress to date, James knows that his road to recovery will be a long one. However, his spirits are high, and he remains optimistic about the future.

“My doctors have told me that due to ongoing pulmonary problems, I will be unable to get back to a busy routine anytime soon,” says James. “However, I am in it for the long haul. It may take some time, but I am going to get my chi back.”

In October, James was invited to serve as a guest conductor during a series of concerts in 2022 that will take place domestically in Carnegie Hall and internationally in historic venues across Europe.

“I am very excited about this opportunity, and I have to get well enough to pursue them,” says James. “A new chapter of my life is being written every day!”

There is no doubt about it – James Story will rise up.

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