After coma, 3 weeks on ventilator, woman celebrates beating COVID-19

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (FOX 2) - There was an emotional reunion outside Beaumont Royal Oak on Monday afternoon. 

After fighting COVID-19 in the hospital for six weeks, Artimesia Simpson was surprised by family and friends with cheers and balloons when she was discharged. 

"I'm just happy to see everybody and have sun in my face," she said. 

"I want to hug her and I can't, so it's a lot of different emotions but I am thanking God that he heard our prayers," said best friend Lakema Covington. 

Simpson lives on Detroit's east side and does not know how she got the coronavirus. The 38-year-old said defeating COVID-19 has been the battle of her life. 

It started with a fever and shortness of breath, then Simpson went downhill and spent three weeks on a ventilator. 

"They put me on a reduced coma and my body started shutting down and I got a blood infection," Simpson said. "And I was on dialysis and didn't know if I was going to make it or not. But with all the prayers and the doctors and stuff working, not giving up on me, I was able to fight back."

"I called every day, they answered every question,” Covington said. “They were very empathetic and they worked really hard. They celebrated every mile stone she met.” 

Now while Simpson continues her recovery, she is incredibly grateful for the support system that showed up when she needed it most. 

“I had a lot of friends praying for me and I woke up to a lot of text messages and Facebook messages with people praying for me,” she said. “And I really appreciate it. I didn't know how loved I was until I saw all the messages when I woke up.”

And if getting the coronavirus taught her anything - “It shows me that I'm a fighter and I can do anything as long as I believe and pray,” she said.