RICHARDSON, Texas — After three very long months in the hospital at Methodist Richardson, Hugo Miranda is off to the next stage of his recovery from COVID-19. The Irving restaurant owner first contracted the virus in early January. Since then, it has been a long and difficult fight that has required life support machines and ventilators and limited visitors to his hospital room.
"I get anxious, I wanna see my brother walk out the door. This virus is really dangerous, it's a monster," said his younger brother Cesar Miranda who, along with 30 other friends and family, stood and waited outside the hospital Monday.
On Monday, Hugo Miranda was treated to a parade down hospital halls flanked by the people who saved him. Nurses and staff cheered as he was wheeled down to the front entrance where an ambulance waited for him.
"He grabbed my hand and kissed me," said his daughter Sofia.
"I grabbed his arm and kissed him on the cheek," said his son Santiago. His two children haven't seen him in three months.
Miranda's fight against COVID-19 has been well documented. As the owner of Hugo's Invitados, a restaurant in Irving, his story has spread across North Texas. The Mirandas are also devout Christians. Every week since January, dozens of people have gathered outside the hospital for prayers.
"I missed him so much and I haven't seen him in a really long time," Sofia said.
More than 535,000 people in the U.S. alone have died from coronavirus. Doctors and family said Hugo was not far from being one of those statistics.
"He had one of the most severe cases. There was a time he was the most sick person in the hospital," said Dr. Michael Foster of the Pulmonary Critical Care Division at Methodist Richardson.
Hugo's fight with COVID-19 is not over. He was moved to a long-term care facility where he will continue his rehabilitation. It is unclear how much longer his medical journey will be, but the family believes it will be months before Hugo is fully back to normal.
"This is a big step for us, for everybody," Cesar said.