He was barely responding at first, but eventually began to make slow progress.

Franklin Charley of Kayenta, Arizona, was discharged from the hospital having spent more than a month --- 44 days --- in the intensive care unit. His stay at Banner Baywood included being on a ventilator for almost two weeks to help keep him alive, according to a release.

“He was barely responding at first, but eventually began to make slow progress,” Abby Weigele, senior RN manager of Banner Baywood Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit, said in the release.

Mr. Charley was admitted to the hospital on March 17, almost a week after the World Health Organization officially declared the virus a pandemic. He spent that month and all of April in the hospital, battling an infectious disease that threatened to almost end his life, the release states.

The patient pushed through thanks to his medical team at Banner Baywood, it states.

On the last day of April, he was surrounded by those same health care workers who helped save his life. They lined the hallway, clapping and cheering with him as he left the hospital to go to a rehabilitation center for additional treatment.

“Our entire floor was so happy and we really wanted to cheer him on as he left, Ms. Weigele said.