Saskatoon

Sask. COVID-19 patient marks 279 days in hospital

Ken Roth, 66, has spent nine months in hospital after contracting COVID-19 in July, 2021. And while there are fewer critically ill COVID patients these days, long hospital stays remain a challenge for the health-care system.

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Ken Roth is still too weak to stand by himself, let alone walk.

Roth, 66, is a recovering COVID-19 patient who has been receiving care, first in Calgary and now at St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon, for nine months — 279 days, to be exact.

His daughter, Kendra Roth, takes him outside the hospital in a wheelchair to get fresh air and a small break from his hospital room.

"I've been on every floor of this hospital," he said. "I've had many ups and downs. It really took a toll on me. I'm 240 pounds now, and I used to be 300 pounds."

He choked up, adding, "It's been tough … COVID really got me."

Ken Roth, seen here on Aug. 20th in the intensive care unit at Calgary's Foothills Medical Centre, where he received treatment for six weeks before being transferred to St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon. (Kendra Roth)

Roth is a water treatment plant supervisor and retired fire chief from La Loche, Sask., 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. 

The unvaccinated grandfather was hospitalized for COVID-19 in Calgary's Foothills Medical Centre on July 24, 2021, while on a family vacation in Alberta. He spent weeks in a coma, and was airlifted to Saskatoon in early September.

His wife, Lorraine, and daughter, Kendra, moved into a hotel near St. Paul's Hospital where they've stayed since last fall.

"A few times I came in, even 3 o'clock in the morning … he was having anxiety attacks because there's nobody around him that he knew. So, as I come in, he calms right down. So, I sit here for all hours of the day and night sometimes," Kendra said.

 

I've had many ups and downs. It really took a toll on me. I'm 240 pounds now, and I used to be 300 pounds.- Ken Roth, recovering COVID-19 patient

When Saskatchewan's ICUs became overwhelmed in October, Roth was among the 27 patients sent to Ontario for care. At the time, Roth told CBC News that his abrupt transport – without any notice or time to call his wife or daughter – had reminded the Métis man of being taken to residential school as a child.

Since returning to Saskatoon, Roth's recovery has been interrupted by pneumonia, adverse reactions to medications, bladder infections and other setbacks.

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Long stays in hospital

There are more than 400 COVID-19 patients in Saskatchewan hospitals, more than in any other wave of the pandemic. However, more than half were admitted for illnesses other than COVID but also tested positive for the virus. And only about 20 require intensive care as of April 27.

Some COVID-patients continue to spend long stretches in the hospital.

Ken's wife, Lorraine, has spent nine months living in a hotel to be close to her husband while he's in the hospital. (Submitted by Ken Roth)

Dr. Alexander Wong is an infectious diseases specialist who has treated patients who have spent months at Regina General Hospital.

"Especially with Alpha and Delta [waves] — when we had so many critically ill patients who were just so sick — we had so many people die, but the ones who did not die obviously require a huge amount of time and energy and resources to recover to a point that they can leave the system," Wong said.

More recently, according to the Saskatchewan Health Authority, 3,587 people with COVID-19 were admitted to Saskatchewan hospitals between October 2021 and the end of March, 2022. Of those, 98 – or 2.7 per cent – stayed in hospital more than 60 days.

"Even if it's only a hundred people who have stayed longer than two months, the overall amount of energy and work and system resources and people and everything else required in order to keep those people alive, is astronomical," Wong said.

Recovering COVID-19 patient Ken Roth in his hospital bed on April 28, 2022, after 279 days in hospital: 'COVID really got me.' (Kendra Roth)

Wong says while there are fewer critical-care patients in the Omicron wave who will require that level of care it is still happening.

Roth is grateful

Roth appreciates the medical staff who saved his life, and now those who are trying to get him back on his feet.

"Some of them actually run to try to help their patients," Roth said.

The avid hunter is tired of being separated  from his children and grandchildren, friends and former co-workers.

He's also worried about paying the bills back home.

As the sole breadwinner in his family, Roth operated the water treatment plant for the northern village of La Loche for more than 40 years, first as an employee, then as a private contractor.

But in February, the village cut off his pay without even a phone call, Roth says.

La Loche's mayor, Georgina Jolibois, refused to comment.

Robert St. Pierre, the former mayor who had overseen Roth's work for years, says he's surprised the village didn't make an effort to help Roth with benefits.

"I would have found a way to work with Ken, and ease what he was going through," St. Pierre said.

Going home

Roth appreciates the support he's received from Métis Nation-Saskatchewan.

Kendra hopes to take her father home, even in wheelchair, once he's strong enough to take a few steps. (Bonnie Allen/CBC)

The  formerly robust man needs to get a bit stronger so that he can move into a rehab centre and, eventually, back to La Loche.

"If he can stand on his own and take a couple of steps, I'm going to take him home," Kendra said. "That's my goal, is to take him home. Even if we have to use the wheelchair at home, I'll take him home and take care of him there. That's where we have support."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bonnie Allen

Senior reporter

Bonnie Allen is a senior news reporter for CBC News based in Saskatchewan. She has covered stories from across Canada and around the world, reporting from various African countries for five years. She holds a master's degree in international human rights law from the University of Oxford. You can reach her at [email protected]