After beating COVID-19, patient finds and thanks all 116 health care workers who saved his life

Several health care workers stand in a row. — (Image credit: iStock)

When Jeff Gerson learned how many people provided care to him while he was hospitalized with the coronavirus, the Manhattan resident knew he had to thank each and every one of them.

Gerson was admitted to NYU Langone Tisch Hospital in mid-March, when the hospital was inundated with coronavirus patients — 170 were on ventilators, and soon, so was Gerson. He was taken off the ventilator in April and able to go home in May, and after going through his hospital and insurance records, he discovered just how many people were involved in saving his life: 116 doctors, nurses, therapists, and other health care workers.

"I just wanted to thank everybody," Gerson told the New York Daily News. Over the next five months, he worked on getting contact information for everyone, and on Nov. 10, sent a three-page letter expressing his gratitude and encouraging them to "continue being the heroes you are." Dr. Luis Angel told the Daily News it was "incredible" to hear from Gerson, and he appreciated that his former patient thanked each person who had a role in his recovery. Gerson's survival, Angel said, is "a credit to everyone. Everyone did the best for him."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.