One Saturday, back in March, 56-year-old Theirrien “Tee” Clark felt tired and slept all day. He and his wife, Marcy Myles-Clark, thought it might have just been another busy week at work. Then, a cough developed; then a fever. Both Tee and Marcy were eventually diagnosed with COVID-19.

Marcy, who had a milder case, started to feel better. However, Tee’s condition continued to get worse. He went to Howard County General Hospital, where an X-ray showed he had COVID-19-related pneumonia. He was admitted, placed on a ventilator, and soon transferred to The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Tee spent a total of 28 days on a ventilator in an intensive care unit (ICU). Marcy says there were several tough moments during that time. Tee’s condition was so grave at one point, she was allowed to don protective gear to safely visit him in the hospital. Fortunately, he made it through. Marcy believes that a 100-plus person international prayer group she formed, called the “TC Prayer Warriors,” made all the difference in getting them through the ordeal.

Both during and after Tee’s ICU stay, a team of physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, rehabilitation physicians and psychologists provided intensive rehabilitation services to rebuild his muscles and improve his endurance, swallowing and voice — all of which were severely affected by COVID-19 —as well as help with anxiety that developed as a result of his illness.

After 46 days, Tee left the hospital on May 6. He lost 40 pounds and had muscle weakness, but both he and Marcy were happy and thankful they could still celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary, which was the day before his hospital release. Marcy says his doctors called him a “walking miracle.”

Tee and Marcy Clark as well as Johns Hopkins Medicine physicians and staff are available for media interviews.

For information from Johns Hopkins Medicine about the coronavirus pandemic, visit hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus. For information on the coronavirus from throughout the Johns Hopkins enterprise, including the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Johns Hopkins University, visit coronavirus.jhu.edu.