STACIE RATHEL
Stacie Rathel, center with her family, pushed hard for convalescent plasma
therapy that led to her husband‘s recovery.
51
Treasure Coast Medical Report
“Less than 48 hours later after he was admitted, he was put
on a ventilator in a medically-induced coma — it was that
fast,” his wife, Stacie Rathel, says. “We didn’t know anyone
else who had it. It was surreal. He just kept getting worse and
it was a nosedive off of a cliff.”
Kevin Rathel was not responding to the standard protocol
of medications used to treat COVID-19 patients. So, his wife
suggested that the doctors use convalescent plasma therapy,
a nonconventional treatment she had learned about just a
month before.
The idea behind the therapy is to infuse a patient with
blood plasma, rich in antibodies, from a person who has
already recovered from the coronavirus. The plasma infusion
bolsters the immune system in hopes that the sick patient recovers.
With no other options available, the hospital eventually
agreed to give it a try.
“About the end of February we read a story about doctors
in New York who were successfully using plasma to
treat COVID patients,” Stacie Rathel says. “My husband and
I had a three to four minute conversation about it saying it
was smart thinking on the part of the doctors to resurrect
this treatment. I like people who are willing to think outside
of the box. Fast forward to we’re in the middle of this. We
personally think it was sort of a God thing that put it on our
radar to begin with. I wouldn’t have known to even consider
that as an option.”
It was during this time that a friend of the Rathels posted
on Facebook a call to pray for Kevin’s dire circumstances
and to help them find a plasma donor. She posted a picture
of the couple, which created a groundswell of support from
followers everywhere. Stemberger learned of Kevin Rathel’s >>
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