Southfield COVID-19 survivor reunites with nurse who helped her overcome obstacles

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (FOX 2) - When cases of COVID-19 surged in Michigan last spring, Heather-Elizabeth Brown caught the virus.

The Southfield woman who is still recovering from the impact the virus had on her body recently reunited via Zoom with a nurse who she said helped her overcome obstacles.

Brown was hospitalized at Beaumont Royal Oak as her health deteriorated. 

"The doctors came in and they said, ‘We’ve done all we can but your lungs are failing. The infection is really severe, and the only thing that we can do to save your life is to put you on a ventilator,’" Brown said.

Heather-Elizabeth Brown had to learn to walk again.

Brown woke up one month later, and the first person she saw was ICU nurse Zachery Mudge.

"He just held my hand and looked me in my eyes and he's just like, ‘Hey, you’re OK. It was a scary moment. We almost lost you,’ but he said something like, ‘We fought to get you back. You fought to be here. You’re OK,'" she said.

Brown and Mudge recently reunited on Zoom.

"The year went by super fast even though it feels like it was forever ago, the world has changed quite a bit, but to be able to reconnect and see her a year later is one of the best things I’ve ever been able to experience," Mudge said.

Brown said Mudge’s confidence helped her overcome the obstacles she faced after waking up, including stroke-like symptoms and having to learn how to walk again. She still doesn’t feel like her old self nearly a year later.

"There’s been a lot in terms of energy, in terms of fatigue, in terms of memory, in terms of the emotional and psychological effects," Brown said.

Brown said she talks about Mudge’s compassion every day.

Zachery Mudge

"Being able to tell somebody how much something that may have seemed so small to them but was so big and so important to me, it’s overwhelming," Brown said.

It was those little moments that forged a friendship.

"To know how much of an impact I’ve made on you has meant the world to me, and I think we can forget sometimes why we do some things and this is just a perfect reminder," Mudge said.

Brown plans to become an advocate for people who suffer from COVID-19's effects long-term. She is writing a book about her experiences.