Another COVID-19 Medical Mystery: Patients Come Off Ventilator But Linger In A Coma

Leslie Cutitta said yes, twice, when clinicians from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston called asking whether she wanted them to take — and then continue — extreme measures to keep her husband, Frank Cutitta, alive.

The first conversation, in late March, was about whether to let Frank go or to try some experimental drugs and treatments. The second call was just a few days later. Hospital visits were banned, so Leslie Cutitta couldn't be with her husband or discuss his wishes with the medical team in person. So she used stories to try to describe Frank's zest for life.

"Frank used to joke that he wanted to be frozen, like Ted Williams, until they could figure out what was wrong with him if he died," says Leslie Cutitta. It wasn't a serious end-of-life discussion, but Cutitta knew her husband would want every possible life-saving measure.

So the Cutittas hung on and a small army of ICU caregivers kept working. On April 21, after 27 days on a ventilator, Frank's lungs had recovered enough to remove the breathing tube.