After 4 Weeks in Critical Condition and 56 Days of Hospitalization, Corona Patient Heads Home

When 58 year old Yuri Dukuchuyev of Maale Adumim was infected with Corona alongside the other members of his family, initially he had no major symptoms. But several days later, Yuri began experiencing serious breathing problems. He would spend nearly two months at Shaare Zedek, but would become one of the most remarkable success stories written in the Corona ward.


His son Igor (pictured with his father and the hospital staff) recalls, “Initially my father began having a bit of trouble breathing and the situation began deteriorating to the point where we thought there would be no hope for recovery. When we had realized that things weren’t getting better, he was taken by Magen David Adom to the Keter (Corona) Ward at Shaare Zedek. We were all still in quarantine so we couldn’t go with him or visit him.” The son explained that his father had worked as coal miner in Ukraine which could have been a factor in why his condition developed as it did.

After three days in the Ward, his condition deteriorated even further and he was transferred into the Intensive Care section of the Ward where he was attached to a respirator and soon thereafter to an ECMO machine. For the next 19 days he remained on the machine and his condition was listed as ‘imminently life threatening.”

Professor Phillip Levine, Director of the Ryzman Intensive Care Unit at Shaare Zedek said, “For a very extended period Yuri was in a critical state and our staff did everything possible to stabilize him. While the signs were not at all positive, we are now very encouraged by the fact that our dedicated efforts proved worthwhile and Yuri’s condition has improved. After two months of care, Yuri can now return home and in many ways it’s hard to believe that he is leaving in such a good condition.”

Professor Levine further said that, “It’s hard to know why Yuri’s condition was so much worse than other family members. We are still learning so much about this virus so while we can’t say with certainty it would seem that his work in a coal mine could likely have caused chronic lung damage.”

Igor looks back on his father’s experience saying, “It was a very trying time for us and we’re happy that we didn’t spend much time reviewing data of success rates for patients connected to an ECMO. The medical staff treated our father with sensitivity and an incredible amount of love and dedication. We offer a huge debt of gratitude to all the staff of the Keter Unit and the ICU as well as the Internal Medicine department and of course to the teams who saved our father’s life. While he still needs the help of a walker at this point, we truly feel like it is an incredible gift that he got his life handed back to him and we look forward to his continued improvement.”

Yuri left the hospital standing on his own and will continue rehabilitation from home