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The first patient with Covid-19 removed from the extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy in Beijing was discharged from the hospital Wednesday.

The 78-year-old woman, surnamed Ma, who was admitted to the Beijing Ditan Hospital in the past 98 days, was removed from the ventilator and expressed her gratitude to the medical staff ten days ago.

Getting off the ventilator for Mrs. Ma was a rocky path. When sent to the hospital on Feb. 5, the elderly suffered from severe respiratory distress and a disordered vascular system.

After an urgent tracheal intubation on Ma, problems with her circulatory system followed, thus the doctors had to use boosters and prone ventilation to keep her blood pressure from dropping.

Ma's life was at stake on Feb. 9 and immediately got support from an ECMO machine. "Our rescue was like walking a tightrope. So we always had to find a balance," said the head of the intensive care department at the hospital, Liu Jingyuan.

Medical staff performed a tracheotomy on Ma on Feb. 20 to clear sputum from her lungs.

On March 3, Ma was successfully released from ECMO and came into rehabilitation, while a physical therapist also joined the medical team and made a rehabilitation plan for her.

Along with the physical treatment, the medical staff also poured attention to Ma’s mental health. The nurse often wheeled her under the sun, watched the sunset and helped her have video calls with her family. 

(Compiled by Guo Yameng)