Steve Blaha and his “favorite caregiver,” his wife, Linda. “Thanks for everyone’s thoughts, prayers and concerns during our ordeal,” he said.
Steve Blaha of the Hillsboro area was one of the first to be hospitalized with COVID-19 in Jefferson County.
He fell ill in early March of 2020 with what he thought was a sinus infection but then escalated so rapidly, he was admitted to the hospital on March 21 and put on a ventilator the following day.
Blaha would spend three weeks in the hospital, some of that time in a medically induced coma. He was put on ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ status.
And then, unexpectedly, he began to improve and was able to return home on April 10.
Almost exactly a year later, he is practically as good as new, according to his wife, Linda.
“He still has some opacities in his lungs, and he gets a scan every six months,” she said. “The last one showed a tiny bit less than before, so we’re hoping it’ll gradually disappear.”
Linda, who also contracted the virus but had only minor symptoms, said it was her husband’s determination that helped speed his recovery.
“After he came home, he had physical therapy, occupational therapy, and he was on a regimen of walking,” she said. “Where we live, it’s really hilly. Between walking and his recumbent bike, he has done really well.”
Steve has resumed his duties as president of the homeowners association at Lake Tishomingo.
“He can pretty much do what he wants,” his wife said. “He has been able to climb the deer stand, get in the boat and fish. He’s repairing the dock, and he’s planning some bathroom remodeling.”
The Blahas, both 66, received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose on March 2, and Steve was laid temporarily low by the shot.
“He’s been under the weather, but I feel just fine, aside from a slight soreness in my arm,” Linda said.
There is still some question as to whether having the disease confers any immunity.
“He asked before he left the hospital if he was now immune, and the doctors said they didn’t know,” Linda said. “A year later, they’re still saying, ‘We’re really not sure,’ so you want to get the vaccine. But we don’t even really know any definitive answers about that either. Does it make you immune permanently? A year? Six months? Nobody really knows.”
The Blahas want the community to know how grateful they are for the support they received.
“Whenever we run into someone who says, ‘We were praying for you,’ it’s so touching – you get kind of choked up,” Linda said. “You expect that kind of support from family, but he hears from total strangers, friends of friends of friends.
“He’s just grateful to be alive and well enough to do what he wants to do. It was an unreal experience.”
