Two brothers survive COVID-19 after their mother dies of coronavirus
Two brothers who survived coronavirus infections are now advocating for other survivors to donate their blood plasma during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mike Mackan and Chris “Tiger” Stockbridge are back together after spending weeks apart.
Stockbridge recovered in late April, but his older brother was still in the hospital after COVID-19 left him in a coma for a week at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston.
“The hardest part is how it sneaks up on you," Mackan said.
“I was lucky,” Stockbridge said. “I had a much different experience with it than Mike did, but the one thing we kind of had in common is that the virus really attacked our bodies at nighttime.”
Mackan lost 45 pounds during his recovery and was able to return home for the first time in a month on Sunday.
“Mike’s the toughest guy that I know,” Stockbridge said. “He’s the toughest guy I’ve ever known in my life.”
The brothers are happy to have survived together, but are grieving the loss of their mother, Jo, who died just before they both tested positive for the virus.
“We still haven’t had closure,” Stockbridge said. “We went from one extreme to the next extreme. We still haven’t had a proper chance to mourn our mother yet.”
Mackan said his life was saved by blood plasma that was donated by a COVID-19 survivor with his blood type.
“Once they got me the plasma transfer, 24 hours later, I was up and alert,” he said.
last month following his recovery, and Mackan will do the same once it is safe for him to do so.
“I’m really looking forward to using my plasma to save others,” Mackan said. “That’s the key. It works, it helps and if that’s one of the answers, I’m going to be a part of it.”
The Red Cross is looking for COVID-19 survivors who are willing to donate their blood plasma.