One is now able to walk on her own, while the other has awoken from a coma and can perform basic communication.
VnExpress reports that Case 19, a 64-year-old woman from Hanoi, appears to be on the road to recovery after an extensive battle against the coronavirus that nearly killed her.
She was admitted to Hanoi's National Hospital of Tropical Diseases on March 7, and is still undergoing treatment there. At one point she was on life support for 17 days, and on the night of April 7 her heart stopped beating, forcing doctors into emergency procedures for 40 minutes.
As of Tuesday, she had tested negative for the virus seven times, and is able to walk under her own power for the first time in weeks.
"Though she has recovered from COVID-19 and been able to breathe and walk normally, the virus has caused a lot of damage to her body and she still has to take a lot of medicine," Vu Dinh Phu, head of the hospitals resuscitation department, told the news source.
The total cost for her treatment thus far is over VND2 billion (US$85,700), all of which will be covered by government funds.
Meanwhile in Saigon, Case 91, as the British pilot who has been in critical condition for weeks is known, regained consciousness yesterday, the same newspaper reports. The 43-year-old man has been on life support for well over a month, and was recently transferred from the city's Hospital of Tropical Diseases to Cho Ray Hospital to prepare for future lung transplant.
That facility's director, Dr. Nguyen Tri Thuc, told VnExpress that the patient can move the tips of his fingers and follow simple instructions. This occurred two days after doctors halted the use of muscle relaxants and began lowering the dosage of sedation used on the pilot.
His limbs and thoracic diaphragm remain weak or paralyzed, and his lungs have been severely damaged, while his overall condition remains severely critical.
On Friday, officials from the Ministry of Health and medical experts from around the country will hold an online meeting to map out future treatment for the patient, as his prognosis is still unclear and he will likely need a lung transplant.
Vietnam's COVID-19 case total is at 327, 49 of whom are active, while no community transmission has been detected in well over one month.
[Photo via Tuoi Tre Thu Do]
