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LOS ANGELES - His voice is still raspy. He can't drive because of temporary paralysis on one leg. He's still tired and has shortness of breath, but Justin Reynolds is home! The 45-year-old plumber returned to his family in Bakersfield after battling the coronavirus in hospitals for four months.
Reynolds did two months of rehab at Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Los Angeles after first going to the hospital at Mercy Southwest in Bakersfield on April 22nd where he lives. Reynolds had been contacted by a co-worker on his construction job that he'd been exposed to the novel virus. Within days, Reynolds, an otherwise healthy man with mere annual sinus issues was in the hospital, on a ventilator, and even was in a coma.
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Reynolds is a true survival story and was welcomed home with a drive-by parade. He was perched in a lawn chair outside his home as friends, family, and nurses from Mercy Southwest drove by on a Sunday night honking and yelling in support.
Reynolds is married with two children. His wife and daughter also tested positive for coronavirus but had minimal symptoms. His son never got it. Even his colleague who first contacted was never seriously ill.
On Sunday, August 9th Reynold was wheeled out of Barlow Respiratory Hospital for the drive home to Bakersfield. His doctor expects a full recovery. Despite Reynold's obvious weekend state his doctor thinks he could go back to work in four to six weeks.