Troup County’s first COVID-19 patient goes home after many weeks in the hospital
Published 5:53 pm Friday, May 1, 2020
- David Simpson, right, is wheeled out of WellStar West Georgia Medical Center with his wife, Veronica, by his side. David had the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Troup County. — Jenna Oden
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With Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” playing in the background and hospital staff celebrating all around him, David Simpson was wheeled out of WellStar West Georgia Medical Center on Friday.
The song’s lyrics — “Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet, just a man and his will to survive” — might be the best description of Simpson’s journey over the last six weeks.
Simpson was the first person in Troup County to have a confirmed case of COVID-19, and he’s been hospitalized since mid-March.
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported Troup County’s first COVID-19 case on March 15.
After first being hospitalized at WellStar WGMC, Simpson was transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta for additional treatment before returning to WGMC. On Friday, he finally got to go home.
His wife, Veronica, went running into the hospital and put her arms out wide when she saw him come off the elevator. The WGMC hospital staff was celebrating all around him while he was rolled in a wheelchair through the lobby.
When he got in the car, many nurses walked up and said their goodbyes.
Troup County has 148 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the latest numbers from the Georgia Department of Public Health. There have been four deaths.
