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More than $10,500 had been raised as of Tuesday on a GoFundMe for the father of two, who has been home from the hospital for approximately one month and continues to make great strides in his recovery, his wife Brianna Schriner says.
Brianna and Kyle have been together since they were 13 years old. They met in seventh grade English class -- and have been inseparable ever since.
But last April, when Kyle was hospitalized with complications of the virus, the possibility that Brianna might have to raise her girls without her loving husband and doting dad became very real.
"There was times at the hospital I didn't know if my girls would ever see their dad again," she said, "or if I'd ever kiss my husband.
"The whole situation was terrifying. Kyle is only 32 years old and healthy. He was is critical condition because of COVID."
Kyle's condition quickly deteriorated.
"The medical team tried multiple noninvasive methods to help his breathing, but his work of breathing was too great and he was becoming fatigued," Brianna said.
That's when medical professionals decided to intubate Kyle, and then placed him on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). He spent 2.5 weeks intubated and on ECMO.
Brianna wasn't sure when she'd have her husband home with her and their girls.
The family's GoFundMe founder, Kacie Zehring, described Brianna as "the epitome of strength." And so, both Kyle and Brianna kept fighting, never losing hope.
"Typically, patients are placed on a paralytic and heavily sedated," explains Brianna, a nurse.
"[Kyle] continued to impress his medical team. He showed he was a true fighter and wasn't giving up."
While Kyle's team thought the next step would be the placement of a trach -- but Kyle had other plans, his wife said.
His lungs were doing all of the work and his physician felt it was worth a chance to extubate him -- another hurdle that Kyle overcame. Then, the doctors discontinued ECMO.
The day that the Schriners had anticipated for weeks came in early May: Kyle came home. While he still requires oxygen with activities, he continues to make great strides in his recovery, Brianna said.
Doctors said recovery could take up to a year, and because Kyle's job as an HVAC-R tech for restaurants is laborious, he won't be able to work for quite some time.
"It will require a great deal of rehab to get him back to where he was physically to meet the demands if his job," Brianna said.
Brianna and the girls are happy to have Kyle home, united as a family.
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