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Indianapolis man defeats COVID-19 after 115 days on ventilator

Posted at 7:44 PM, Sep 18, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-18 19:44:44-04

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man is back home after defeating COVID-19, enduring extremely difficult conditions.

Surjit Singh is 67 years old and was on a ventilator for 115 days and in the hospital for five months.

He was just released from a rehabilitation hospital Friday afternoon.

His family says he checked into the hospital back on April 16 with low oxygen levels. Since then, he’s been in multiple intensive care units.

“To see somebody that has been through what he's been through, for as long as he was on the ventilator, all the treatments that he got, to see him have the ability to walk out of here that is incredible,” said Dr. Jake Halvorsen, a physiatrist at the rehabilitation facility.

His family admits, they never thought COVID-19 would impact them in this way.

“At the beginning we were one of those families that was like, 'Oh you know, if we get it we will get sick and will get over it,' but we learned the hard way,” his son Prince Singh said.

He said they are now just happy to bring him home for his 68th birthday this weekend. “

We know he's a very giving person, a very humble person and he likes to give back," Prince said. "We know this wasn't the end for him. We knew he was a fighter.”

Family says they hope his story encourages other battling COIVD-19 to keep fighting.

“There have been many times we thought it was the end of the journey, but we kept fighting and kept pushing for new resources,” Prince said.