Given Just Hours To Live, Woman Recovering From Coronavirus

ACROSS AMERICA — Doctors told the family of Rhonda Withem in November that their loved one likely only had a few hours to live after the difficult decision was made to take her off a ventilator. Complications from her coronavirus diagnosis were adding up, and her family was preparing to say goodbye.

A month later, Withem continues to gain strength every day.

Nicole Brewer, Withem's daughter, told CNN that her mother seemed to "come alive" after she was taken off the ventilator at Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton, Arkansas.

"When they pulled everything off, she started waking up and saw my sister and was raising her hand to wave at us," Brewer said.

Withem gained more and more strength every day. Soon, she was out of the ICU and into a regular COVID-19 room. She's now in a rehabilitation room regaining her strength, Rebekah Goshien, her other daughter, told CNN.

Withem is now pushing herself in her wheelchair, can practice moving her elbows and is building up her endurance, according to the report. Withem and Brewer take turns visiting her, as only one person at a time is allowed in her room.

"My family has seen a miracle ... and it's just all the glory and everything to God," Goshien said.

Read more via CNN

The Latest

An agreement has been reached on the long-awaited second coronavirus federal relief bill, according to multiple reports.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday said "the four leaders of the Senate and House finalized an agreement," according to a CNN report.

Both McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier that Congress could vote on the new relief bill as early as Sunday night.

In addition to a one-time $600 payment for all Americans, the new bill is expected to include $25 billion in rental assistance to families impacted by the pandemic, according to Reuters.

As congressional leaders were putting the final touches on the $900 billion relief bill, an expert panel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified people over 75 and essential workers — such as firefighters, police officers, teachers and grocery store workers — as next in line to receive vaccine shots.

More than 556,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have already been administered to healthcare workers and nursing home residents, according to The Associated Press, and the Moderna vaccine that was approved by the CDC on Friday could begin as early as Monday. Shipments of the second vaccine began Sunday morning from Moderna's plant in Mississippi.

President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, are expected to take the vaccine on Monday, the AP and others have reported.

Around the globe, concerns have been raised about a new strain of coronavirus sweeping across southern England. A growing list of European Union nations barred travel from the United Kingdom on Sunday and others were considering similar action to prevent the spread of the new strain, according to a report from The Associated Press.

England Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Christmas shopping and gatherings in southern England must be canceled because of rapidly spreading infections blamed on the new coronavirus variant.

This comes as the global number of coronavirus cases has gone above 75 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. India, the country with the second highest number of cases after the U.S., recently surpassed 10 million.

Newest Numbers

Over the past week, new daily cases are up 1.4 percent, new daily deaths are up 5.9 percent and COVID-19-related hospitalizations are up 4 percent, according to a Washington Post database. The Post's reporting shows an 11.2 percent positivity rate among reported tests and a 5 percent rie in the number of tests reported.

As of Monday, 48 states and Puerto Rico remained above the positive testing rate recommended by the World Health Organization to safely reopen. To safely reopen, the WHO recommends states remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days. Currently, only Hawaii, Vermont and Washington, D.C. are under that threshold.

More than 17.8 million people in the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Monday evening, and more than 317,600 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus news via The New York Times or Washington Post.

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