COVID’s ‘living hell’ leaves Pasco’s Miracle Mike fighting to get back on his feet

Mike Welch admits he didn’t used to be an emotional guy.

But after coming close to death while battling COVID-19 during an 84-day hospitalization, the Pasco business owner doesn’t hold back when talking about the angels in his life.

“Since I woke up, I’m just blessed that she saved my life. ... She was my saving angel,” Welch said choking up as he looked across the room at wife Rita, whose eyes also were brimming with tears. “My kids, our families and friends, everybody that was involved. There were hundreds of people fighting for me, praying for me.”

The couple have been together 46 years — since Rita was in the seventh grade and Mike in eighth at Stevens Middle School. He was a star athlete at Pasco High in football, wrestling and baseball, and went on to co-own Creative Concrete Design, where he would work 8- to 14-hour days up until his illness.

Now 59, Welch is completely reliant on his wife to get around town for doctor’s appointments or even do some basic day-to-day tasks at home. It’s an effort just to make it up each of the 17 stairs to their second-story bedroom.

His body is weak, in part from being bedridden in a coma for more than 50 days and losing 40-45 pounds.

He has scarring on his lungs, and won’t know the condition of his heart until an April doctor visit.

And he has zero memory of the whole ordeal, which started the week before Thanksgiving. He acknowledges that might not be a bad thing, for now, considering what his family went through to keep him alive.

Fighting for recovery

But the man dubbed “Miracle Mike” during his coronavirus journey is fighting hard to ultimately make a full recovery. He is still young and has a couple of grandbabies he wants to watch grow up, he says.

“It’s hard to see progress from day to day but you know, if I look back a month ago when I got out of the hospital, I am 100% better,” Welch told the Tri-City Herald. “But as far as I was when I got sick, I’m probably only 25 or 30%. I’m still so weak in all areas, but I’m getting better every day, I think.”

Rita said her husband can get frustrated at the slow progress he is making, but is taking it one day at a time. And that is one day that she wasn’t sure the family would get, she says.

“You feel so fortunate because we have him, you know, and you feel so bad for those who’ve lost ...,” said Rita. “My heart goes out to all those families that haven’t gotten as lucky as we have. And that’s what we want to tell everybody too, is just hold the fight.”

“Hopefully this is coming to an end,” she added. “Everybody (needs to) just keep doing the right thing, stay safe, because this is no joke. And when you’re living it, it’s a living hell. Excuse my mouth, but that’s the truth.”

Welch used to consider himself a healthy person, saying it had been at least 10 years since he last had the flu. He has high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but did not have other underlying conditions that have been cited with the vulnerable population for COVID.

The family does not know how or where they got the virus. They have been wearing masks since the outset of the pandemic and taking other health and safety precautions.

Last memories

Daughter Amanda Welch and her boyfriend, and wife Rita also got COVID, but Mike Welch says he was the only one who got real sick.

The last memory he has is being tested for COVID at the Columbia Basin College site and getting an alert on his phone two days later that he was positive. That was about a week before his hospitalization.

He could not stop throwing up and was unable to sleep, but a doctor advised his wife to keep treating Welch at home. When he had trouble breathing on Thanksgiving morning, Rita knew her husband had to go to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.

Days later just before being intubated, Welch sent a text to Rita saying, “I will see you soon.” Rita vowed then she would hold her husband to that, since he had never let her down before.

Welch spent almost 50 days on a ventilator to help pump oxygen into his body, and wasn’t allowed ICU visits from his wife until Day 40 after the family persisted.

Rita and Amanda say they were asked at least twice by doctors and nurses to make end-of-life decisions for Mike, such as removing him from all machines, because staff believed he was suffering as his lung health deteriorated and questioned his quality of life if he survived.

The mother, daughter and son Michael refused to “unplug” their loved one. They got a second opinion from an outside doctor and on Jan. 16 had him moved by ambulance to Vibra Hospital in Boise, Idaho.

‘Deserves a win’

Within two days of being there, Welch started breathing on his own but then had to be treated for pneumonia. He later was moved to Saint Alphonsus for intensive physical therapy and speech therapy before being released for home Feb. 17.

“It just seemed like some days ran into other days, and it was just really emotional the day that I heard his voice because I didn’t expect it,” said Rita Welch. “I literally almost collapsed, that’s the honest to God’s truth. It’s something I’ve never had before, that feeling.”

He walked out of the facility doors without his walker, holding on to his wife until they got to the car.

Amanda Welch said once back in the Tri-Cities, the family was greeted by balloons and “Welcome Home” signs from friends. She treated her dad that night to a juicy cheeseburger and a pizza.

“It’s been a really amazing journey, not just for my family but for this community,” said Amanda Welch. “Everybody just loves a story where somebody wins, and if anybody deserves a win, it’s my dad for sure.”

Mike Welch said when he first came home 5 1/2 weeks ago, he could walk maybe 200 feet with a walker. He has been pushing himself twice a week in physical therapy to get his body back into it, and only now feels comfortable enough to use a cane at home instead of the walker.

Welch said during a recent session, he ran through a rope ladder on the ground. That was a milestone in his recovery because it was the fastest he’s moved since getting out of the hospital, and said it gave him something to smile about.

“I just complimented my therapist (last week) that he’s been making me sore the day after, so that (meant) he was doing a good job. They’ve been doing all kinds of different strength exercises and that kind of stuff to make me stronger,” said Welch. “I try to reach for different goals every time to increase and beat what I did the time before, and get better faster.”

Welch said it is hard to accept that he is only 30% of his former self, especially since Rita has to do everything for him.

“She’s just beyond amazing,” he said. “They don’t want me driving yet until I get doctor’s approval, so she’s got to take me everywhere I go and I’m kind of an inpatient person, I guess.”

Rita and Mike Welch said they are appreciative for the support they have received through the hard times, adding that it’s a wonderful feeling to know so many people care.

“I think it’s God’s will that I am still here, you know,” he said. “I am just fortunate and happy to be here.”

Mike Welch was told to wait two to three months for his immunity to build up before getting the COVID vaccine, but encourages people to do what they can now to help bring an end to this pandemic by protecting themselves and others.

“I am proof that it’s real,” he said. “Just be safe and, if it’s wearing masks that save their lives, they need to do it.”