PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Washington County woman has returned home after spending 97 days in a Hillsboro hospital recovering from the coronavirus.
“I’m excited,” said Stoutt after leaving the facility. “It’s an environmental change, but everything is progressing well. I’m happy.”
Kim Stoutt was diagnosed with the virus around Thanksgiving and subsequently went to Kaiser Westside for her symptoms on December 3 of last year.
Stoutt is a COVID and cancer survivor. She was adopted from Korea at age 3 and raised in Oregon.
“She is a warrior, she is a remarkable woman,” said Darci Stoutt, Kim’s daughter in law.
To mark the special departure, doctors and nurses cheered as she was wheeled out of the ICU. Her family helped escort her out of the hospital Wednesday. Darci said the moment was surreal.
“I can’t even believe it,” said Darci. “[I] didn’t really know we’d get to this spot and there were some days we didn’t know leaving the hospital would look like this. To be out here celebrating, its incredible.”
Doctors said Stoutt has made a lot of progress in her recovery no longer needs a ventilator or feeding tube. On Wednesday, she went home just hooked up on oxygen.
“To be able to leave the hospital connected to almost nothing is incredible,” Darci said.
Stoutt told KOIN 6 that her family had been around her the whole time she was at Kaiser. The hospital allows one visitor each day. She added that even though she wasn’t conscious, she could feel the presence internally. Jay Robinson, a hospital administrator with Kaiser told us success stories are becoming more common as physicians learn how to treat the disease better.
“It gives me hope to know that some people can overcome [COVID-19] through the care we provide here — through our doctors, our nurses, our respiratory therapists,” said Robinson. “We are able to bring patients back to their families. It just moves your heart to see a family member join their family after being gone for more than three months.”
“We have other patients who have been here for a long time and it’s a tough road…There is still rehab ahead they have to go through and I think that’s important.”
Kim’s family said for families going through a similar situation, “don’t lose hope.” Kim said it’s the love of her family and team at Kaiser Westside that helped her get through.
“It’s a good day – thank you very much for everyone’s support,” she said.