HEALTH
50
Treasure Coast Medical Report
recalls. “They X-rayed my lungs and showed me spots on
my lungs. Then that’s when I thought, You know what? I
bet I have this bug.”
In fact, additional testing later determined that he did
have it.
Crocker was one of the lucky ones. The Stuart resident
spent the night in the hospital and then quarantined at
home, where he fully recovered. By the time he had completed
his quarantine, his mind began to focus on the country’s
economic crisis. He read news articles and then turned
to Facebook to get a sense of the business fallout. That’s
when he saw a post from a friend, attorney John Stemberger,
that prompted him to text Stemberger, asking him to call.
Stemberger texted him back, “I can’t call you. I’m looking
for a needle in a haystack. I have a friend who’s about to
die from the coronavirus. Unless he gets a plasma donor —
it’s our last hope.’”
And without hesitation, Crocker responded, “I am your
needle in a haystack.”
COMBATING COVID
Stemberger’s friend was Kevin Rathel, 52, who was in the
ICU at Orlando Regional Hospital. In late March, he developed
what appeared to be flu-like symptoms. He had no
pre-existing conditions. The sickness ran through Rathel’s
family, too, impacting his wife and three children, who
had less severe symptoms. He had no fever or cough, felt
exhausted, and had lost his appetite. He began to experience
shortness of breath after several days, and eventually
went to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with
pneumonia. Later on, he tested positive for COVID-19. >>
STACIE RATHEL
Kevin Rathel of Orlando recovers from COVID-19 after receiving convalescent
plasma from Crocker at Orlando Regional Health.
/www.amicusmedicalgroup.com
/www.amicusmedicalgroup.com
