A Local Man’s Story: Advances In ICU Care Are Saving More Patients Who Have COVID-19

Niticia Mpanga, a registered respiratory therapist, checks on an ICU patient at Oakbend Medical Center in Richmond, Texas. The mortality rates from COVID-19 in ICUs have been decreasing worldwide, doctors say, at least partly because of recent advances in treatment.

Mark Felix / AFP via Getty Images

If you think all the coronavirus news is bad, consider the uplifting story of Don Ramsayer.

The 59-year-old man from Cumming, Georgia, is living evidence that doctors in intensive care units quickly figured out how to help more patients survive.

In early August, Ramsayer was helping his son pack up the car for his freshman year at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Ramsayer had been having night sweats and wasn’t feeling that well, but he tried to play it down.