Bend COVID-19 patient who received plasma treatment returns home
Liliana Lock's journey to recovery continues at home
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Liliana Locke, the first COVID-19 patient in Central Oregon to receive a convalescent plasma transfusion, woke up from a medically induced coma on Saturday and is now recovering at home. Her family said she is still testing positive for the virus.
Locke, 53, was first admitted to the intensive-care unit at St. Charles Bend on April 18. Her family said she spent more than a week fighting for her life on a ventilator.
Locke’s 19-year-old daughter, Nicole Ohlin, contracted the virus first, but she recovered within a few days. Her mother, who had been caring for her, caught it next.
“From the start, the journey was crazy,” Nicole said Thursday. “I honestly never thought I would get it, or that my mom would get it.”
NewsChannel 21 last spoke with Locke’s husband, Craig Ohlin, on April 30, the day after he volunteered her to receive a convalescent plasma transfusion.
According to St. Charles Bend, Locke was the first COVID-19 patient in Central Oregon to receive the treatment. The frozen convalescent plasma had been flown to Bend from Bloodworks Northwest in Seattle, which had a unit of plasma that matched Locke’s blood type.
Due to the virus, no visitors were allowed in the hospital. Nicole and Craig called Locke’s doctors for updates on her condition.
“My dad and I really thought we were not going to have her here at all,” Nicole said. “She was going downhill really fast.”
Locke’s family and doctors did not know how long it would take for her to wake up from her coma. Nicole said her mom woke up on Saturday, the day before Mother’s Day.
“She told me, ‘Where’s my flowers?’ when she woke up, which is crazy,” Nicole said.
Now, she said, Locke has to undergo speech and physical therapy to help her learn how to speak, write and walk again.
“I just want to let everyone know that I appreciate you, and I thank all of you for being there for my dad and I,” Nicole said. “But my mom will get through it. She’s a strong woman.”
To read updates on Locke's journey to recovery, visit the GoFundMe set up by Nicole.
