COVID-19 Survivor Gets Round of Applause!

(Honesdale, PA, April 28, 2020)… After five days in Wayne Memorial Hospital’s COVID-19 containment unit, 46-year-old Melissa Riefler, Honesdale, was discharged to a round of applause from hospital staff. Nurses say her children played her Elton John’s song, I’m Still Standing, every day to help her fight the disease. Today, as she was wheeled out, Wayne Memorial announced her departure and played the song over the public announcement system. Staffers elsewhere said it thrilled them to be even a little part of Melissa’s survival story. Her husband Chris met her outside and gave her a kiss. While everyone was masked, eyes were smiling—and some even crying. For the video, visit Wayne Memorial Hospital on Facebook. For more on COVID-19, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus.

Photo from inside: Melissa Riefler flanked by applauding Wayne Memorial Hospital doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and aides as she leaves the hospital after a five-day battle against COVID-19.

Photo: Melissa Riefler, husband Chris Riefler (left) and Wayne Memorial Covid Unit Medical Director Dr. Sean McVeigh, pulmonologist (right in lab coat).