Chris McMillan is back home in Bethlehem. He says he feels less than 50 percent of his usual self, but he’s glad to be home.

McMillan was discharged April 6 from Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) - Muhlenberg, Bethlehem, after a difficult 15-day struggle battling COVID-19.

He spent eight days in an induced coma on a ventilator, which was removed April 2. McMillan was the first coronavirus patient at LVH-Muhlenberg to come off a ventilator.

McMillan had been sick at home for more than one week, quarantined in his basement away from his companion, Jen Sanita, and their three children.

His well-above-normal temperature refused to drop despite taking medication. Tests for the flu were negative and he was awaiting the results of a COVID test when he decided to drive himself to the hospital after he began wheezing and his breathing sounded like a crackling noise in his chest.

McMillan says while it was a milestone to come off the ventilator, he still felt like his body was foreign to him. “My balance and my coordination were just shot,” he says. He also lost 16 pounds.

As for the virus that changed his life and has changed life as most of us know it for the past month, McMillan says he’s had seasonal flu and COVID-19 “ain’t the flu.”

“It’s not a joke,” McMillan says. “We should shelter and separate ourselves from it because the other side of the coin is a battle.”

McMillan praised the nurses and staff at LVH - Muhlenberg, calling them absolute heroes and amazing. He says even when he’d become agitated and go through frequent ups and downs they were always there for him, caring for his every need.

To view a video of McMillan’s discharge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VThQ1AhaV-s