05/15/2020
Glad to see that Dick is doing well! Here’s a little interview he recently did.
IU Health Jay’s First COVID Patient Shares His Story
The definition of a hero is different depending on who you ask. Some of the more common answers are professional athletes or someone famous, but if you ask 84 year old Richard “Dick” Houser, heroes are the nurses working on the IU Health Jay COVID Unit. “Each and every one of them. They are young, they have children and families they leave at home…they are the heroes of this ordeal.”
Mr. Houser was the first COVID-19 patient to be admitted to IU Health Jay back in March. He recalls being at home not feeling well, having a fever and sore throat, the more common initial symptoms. Over the course of a few days, he rapidly took a turn for the worse. One of his children stopped by his house to check on him and knew something was wrong. He was brought to IU Health Jay and when he arrived, Ray Newton, IU Health Jay Police Officer was on staff and immediately went to his aid. “He saw me and knew I was in bad shape. He helped me into a wheel chair and back to the emergency room,” said Dick.
He was brought to the emergency room where he said everything went blurry, but he remembers later waking up on the COVID unit. While on the unit, Mr. Houser undeniably states, “they are the best nurses. I’ve been in different hospitals at different times and the nurse there (at Jay) beat any. He also mentioned with sincerity, “One nurse came by my room each day before she left and prayed for me.” He realized this wasn’t part of her job or list of duties, but she truly cared for him and about his recovery. Mr. Houser was on the unit for a few days and then was able to discharge home to continue his recovery.
Dick has 6 children, 15 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren, 2 of which he had yet to see as of late April due to the pandemic. They are a close family who spend a lot of time together, “solving the world’s problems on our front porch. So it’s hard to be isolated and not see them all regularly.”
Dick also remembers the Polio Epidemic of 1949, which not many of us do, but he explains that everything was shut down at that time too. The government ordered everyone to stay home, and factories to produce “iron lungs”, and they did without question. He remembers, “We stayed home and played a lot of croquet. Probably a game that doesn’t interest the young kids today, but it entertained us and passed the time.”
Even though it’s difficult to be quarantined and away from your friends and family, Mr. Houser understands the importance and that he’s at high risk, “I’m not sure I would survive. I don’t think I could fight off COVID again.”
As Indiana loosens restrictions and businesses begin to reopen, remember that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is to wash your hands often, avoid close contact, cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others, cover coughs and sneezes, and clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces (cdc.gov).
