Brad Moss doesn’t need anything special this Thanksgiving.
He has his family, his friends and his community. As an added bonus, there’s surviving that long extended brush with death thing.
Moss was discharged Nov. 12 from Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox after spending nearly four months on COVID-19’s roller-coaster of terror, which careened and spiraled the father of two through diagnoses and treatments that introduced him to ventilators, surgery, blood clots, kidney failure, threats of amputation and the prospect of dying.
Now, back in his Tinley Park home, Moss is glad to return to the ordinary, the normal, the routine. A tender moment with his wife. A hug from his kids. A meal at the kitchen table.
His message to the world this Thanksgiving is simple: “Appreciate what you have. Don’t take anything for granted. And if you ever get the chance to pay it forward, do.”
His wife, Amy, said they’ve always made a practice of acknowledging blessings, but “this holiday will be extra special because we have something we didn’t have for a long time: our family all together.”
The nightmare began in July, after the family returned from their son’s baseball tournament trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Both Brad and Amy began experiencing flu-like symptoms. They and their sons tested positive for COVID-19 but while the kids showed no signs of the virus and Amy recovered within days, Brad’s condition quickly worsened.
After he passed out at home, paramedics took him to Silver Cross, where he was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia.
The stay began with a three-week stint in isolation. Amy was only allowed to see him before surgery to repair a hematoma “because they weren’t sure I was going to make it,” he said.
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After the operation, Moss was placed on a ventilator. Though he was expected to come off the breathing assistance device within a few days, COVID’s side effects decided otherwise and he remained on it for weeks.
Simultaneously, he developed blood clots throughout his body, so many that doctors told him they had never seen anything like it.
Dr. John Mikuzis, medical director of Action Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Silver Cross, said Moss’ survival was not only miraculous but “a blessing to all the doctors and nurses and staff who worked with him.”
A typical COVID-19 patient’s hospital stay is less than two weeks.
Because he was relatively young — 46 years old — and in good health before contracting the virus, Moss should have supported that statistic, Mikuzis said. Bad luck or a genetic anomaly caused his patient’s condition to spiral, the doctor said.
That is the mystery and complexity of COVID-19, Mikuzis said. Doctors aren’t sure why it hits some people hard while giving others a pass.
“We can’t tell who’s going to get sick and who won’t if they get it. Some of the variants are kinder, others are not. This Delta variant has been pretty rough,” he said.
The trouble is caused by inflammatory cytokines, Mikuzis said. They are what produce the inflammatory changes in the lungs, in the blood vessels and in different organ systems in the body, Mikuzis said.
Moss, he said, “kept getting one after the other after the other.”
At one point, doctors thought they’d have to amputate Moss’ leg. Just before surgery, a pre-op scan revealed a tiny sign of change and the procedure was canceled.
Other COVID-19 patients have not been so fortunate, Mikuzis said. Since the pandemic began in early 2020, many have lost fingers, toes and limbs, he said. Others have suffered heart attacks or strokes or become respiratory cripples, he said.
Moss’ incredible recovery boosted the morale of a medical staff that has been beaten down by the pandemic.
“Everybody went into medicine to help people,” Mikuzis said. “But to watch so many people get sick through this pandemic has been rough. The nursing staff has really gone through a lot. They watch people that they’ve cared for end up in a really bad place or dead.”
Which is why this case, he said, “left us all in tears. We had a patient who went through so much but came out of it and looks so good — it’s so rewarding for everybody.”
Moss, who works in management for the Chicago Transit Authority, came off the ventilator in September, the day before his 47th birthday. A Silver Cross nurse put together a small surprise celebration. When he was finally released to leave the hospital, staff organized a welcome home party.
“These are people who truly love their jobs even when there wasn’t a lot to love,” Amy said.
Moss said before he got sick he was in decent shape. He walked daily and always strove to “get his steps.”
He never expected his health to deteriorate so quickly.
But he also was surprised by his own ability to stay positive.
“My wife told me I was allowed to have one pity party,” he said.
And after his gall bladder began acting up Halloween weekend and a drain had to be installed, he had that meltdown.
“Other than that, I’m pretty proud that I was able to hold it together mentally,” he said.
Mikuzis said, throughout the ups and downs, Moss “just kept plugging.
“He never gave up. He was awesome. His wife was fantastic. His mom was awesome. They did whatever they could to help,” he said.
Though he was not vaccinated against COVID-19 when he fell ill, Moss said he plans to get the vaccine soon. Meanwhile, his family has been vaccinated.
The worst part of the experience, he said, was not being able to see his kids. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, they weren’t able to visit. But, Moss said, his wife and mother were constants at his bedside.
Amy, who teaches third grade at Indian Trails School in Frankfort, said, “People would bring food and cards. People would say they’d pray for us, and they really did. They held a vigil.”
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Members of the community, particularly Gatto’s Restaurant and Bulldogs Football, rallied around the family as well, she said, holding fundraisers and offering assistance.
This Thanksgiving, as families across the nation set their tables to match the number expected at their dinner, the Moss family is grateful for so much, but mostly that every chair at their table will be taken.
Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years.