Doctor Meets Coronavirus Survivor He Saved: 'I Am So Grateful'

MATTITUCK, NY — One year after his breathing tube was removed following a fierce battle with coronavirus, a Long Island farmer and grandfather who survived the ordeal met the young doctor who saved his life — and both were profoundly impacted by the experience.

According to all accounts, Mattituck's David Steele, 64, known for his huge heart and dedication, defied all the odds after waging a war against "nightmare" coronavirus last year.

His daughter Kristin Payano said he was admitted to the hospital on March 20, spent three weeks on a ventilator in ICU, two weeks on a regular COVID floor, and two weeks at the Westhampton Care Center. "Dad is a fighter and kicked COVID's a--," she said, when he was released in May, 2020. "We are so happy to have him home!"

The North Fork community came out to cheer Steele's return, organizing a car parade in his honor.

"I don't remember much about that time," Steele said. "I just remember going to the hospital, feeling sick and feverish— and then I woke up in the hospital four weeks later on a ventilator, so weak I couldn't lift my arms."

It wasn't until this April that Steele was able to come face-to-face with the doctor who helped to save his life.

When he and his family met Dr. Luke Alessi this month on the North Fork, Steele said they shook hands — and then hugged. "He was a really nice doctor, very caring," he said.

Alessi said Steele was far sicker than his family even realized. A resident who will head into private practice in East Hampton this summer, Alessi recalled the moment his path first intertwined with Steele's.

He came in on a Monday morning and the mood amongst staff was grim: "I was told that he was probably going to die soon,'" he said.

Alessi, who was in contact with the patients of his families daily, spoke to Kristin, Steele's daughter, later that day.

"She knew he might be passing soon but she said she wasn’t ready to let him. I said, 'Then, don't.' We don't know for sure which way this is going to go.' Everything was so new."

Describing those early days of the pandemic, Alessi said the atmosphere was heavy with fear and uncertainty. "Everyone was on edge. It was tense; it was palpable," he said. "We were losing people, and a lot of people got very sick. Everyone was scared and looking to you for answers —but we didn't have answers. There was a lot that we didn't know."

And so, Alessi told Steele's daughter: "He's not actively dying. He's not doing better —but if you want to keep going, that's what we're going to do — keep going."

And then came the miracle, Alessi said. "Later in the week, by Wednesday, he began showing a little progress. By Friday, we said, 'This guy may be able to come off the ventilator.'"

The first time they tried to wean Steele from the vent, he had slight arrhythmia, so the decision was made to wait.

The next morning, Alessi said, the tube was removed. "I called Kristin and said, 'Your dad is breathing on his own.'"

The task was performed successfully on the Saturday morning before Easter."His doctor told me, 'Your father is my Easter miracle,'" Kristin said. "He said, 'I wish I could hug you.' I told him, 'When this is over, I am coming to hug you.'"

The next day, Kristin said, staff at the hospital put the phone up to her dad's ear. "He was so weak. He obviously wasn't able to talk, but my mom was able to talk to him, saying, 'We love you. Everything is fine. Keep getting stronger, so you can get home.'"

And, exactly one year to the day later, Kristin got the chance to hug the doctor who'd saved her father's life.

Steele's family had kept in touch with Alessi all through his recovery and throughout the year since. One day, Kristin reached out to him and said she hoped to arrange the meeting.

For Alessi, seeing Steele again was deeply emotional: "It was indescribable. The last time I saw this guy, he could only move his eyes. He was just looking at me, waving his thumb and wiggling his toe, tracking me with his eyes. Now, I'm shaking his hand, this big, strapping man—and I'm a skinny guy— he shook my hand with his big farmer's mitts," he said. "To think he made it, and to think I'd had a part in that, it was unbelievable."

Steele told him, "I don't remember you," Alessi said. "And I told him, 'I'd be surprised if you did.'"

There were so many losses during that dark year of COVID-19, Alessi said. "But there were also cool stories like this — and this was the most amazing one."

The two talked and talked; Steele shared what it felt like to have the catheter removed.

"I don't think they realized how critical he was," Alessi said. "We thought, 'This guy's going to die,' and now, I'm shaking his hand and they're telling me to join them for a cocktail."

As a doctor at the start of his lifetime journey of helping others, Alessi said he was forever changed because of the coronavirus battle.

"It was a tough experience but I am a markedly better doctor because of it," he said. "I'm proud to have had the opportunity to help in some way. Both my grandfathers fought in World War II, and while this isn't anywhere near as close to what they went through, to know that I have done something in my life like this to help is such an honor."

Steele said when the first COVID case was diagnosed in Suffolk, "It was like the denial phase. Everyone was looking around saying, 'This can't be COVID. No way.' But it was."

And then the world turned upside down for months, he said.

Meeting Steele has changed him forever, Alessi said. "When I was talking to him I was conscious of the fact that this was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I hope they know that I am so grateful, just to hear from them and just so happy that they are doing well."

Alessi has kept the cards from Steele's family and grandchildren and plans to put them on his desk in his new East Hampton office when he sets up his first private practice this year.

The bond he shares with Steele and his family showed Alessi firsthand the life-changing importance of human connection. "It's a reminder of how much being a decent human being means. Listening, when they had to let all those feelings out. Knowing how much it meant to them — that's something I will have for the rest of my career."

As for Kristin, she said she was nervous and excited to see Alessi — and finally hug him. "He remembered so much about my dad's case. It was unbelievable. I could have listened to them talk forever."

Kristin said she hopes the bond continues; the Steele family even invited Alessi for a barbecue.

Her family, she said, is forever grateful to Alessi. "He is going far in his career," she said. "He is one unbelievable man. We are so grateful to know him."

Steele said after his ordeal, he has a deeper appreciation for the things that matter. "I'm still working, but I'll drop anything now if the grandkids come over. I'll be home now — that's it," he said.

Steele acknowledged how hard it was on his family, who were unable to speak to him for weeks while he was hospitalized and intubated.

Sherry, Dave's wife, told Patch after many dark weeks, for so long, she said, her only glimpses of her beloved Dave were through windows, as she stood outside his hospital room and later, on the lawn outside the Westhampton Care Center. Those days, she said, were "a nightmare, an absolute nightmare."

But then came the joyful day she brought her husband home. When the community turned out to welcome him, Steele said, "It was overwhelming. We came around the corner and I saw all the people and the fire trucks and I thought, 'Holy cow.' It was so appreciated and so nice. I think half the town was there!"

Steele thanked not just Alessi but the nurses and staff who helped him — and his friends and loving family.

Reflecting on the experience, Kristin said her father's homecoming was especially sweet based on the unfamiliar territory her family traversed.

"Honestly, we didn't think was going to happen," she said. "We thought we were going to have to say good-bye to our dad. This really is a miracle. We thought we weren't going to see him again."

Steele said he is eternally grateful: "Thank you for all the support, caring and prayers." Reflecting on his survival, he added, "It was nice to get a second shot."