D.C. nurse released from hospital after 117-day stay due to COVID-19

During her stay, 60-year-old Sharon Tapp battled pneumonia, heart failure and lung failure

Jul 31, 2020

A Washington, D.C. nurse was recently released from Johns Hopkins Hospital after being treated for COVID-19 for over 100 days.

60-year-old Sharon Tapp started feeling ill on March 18, she went to the hospital, but her condition quickly deteriorated within 10 days, she was placed on a ventilator. She had to be transported via a medical evacuation to the premier medical institution.

During her 117-day stay, she battled pneumonia, heart failure, and lung failure. Doctors placed in a medically-induced coma for two months.

Tapp has been a nurse and case manager for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C. for more than 40 years.

She was still working daily when she came down with COVID-19 symptoms. She suspects she contracted the virus at work.

After a 117 day stay battling #COVID-19, patient Sharon Tapp who works as a nurse case manager was on the recieving end of care. She looks forward to discharging home to the comfort of her family and friends. https://t.co/7b3ArdBC4O
— Hopkins Med News (@HopkinsMedNews) July 14, 2020

Johns Hopkins wrote a story about Tapp on their website where they detailed her experience. She received rehabilitation therapy to aid in her “cognitive, physical, and verbal recovery.”

“Her daily care routine includes muscle strengthening exercises to improve her weakness and regular in-hospital walks to improve her strength and balance. She is slowly regaining her independence with activities of daily living such as standing, walking, lifting, and reaching for items.”

Tapp is also undergoing speech therapy. She and her medical providers did several local interviews to share her story.

In an interview with CBS News, Tapp said that she was excited to see her family members whom she hadn’t seen since March.

She was released from the hospital last Friday.

“It feels great,” Tapp, 60, told Today of overcoming her severe illness, which left her on the brink of death. “Everyone was pleased and happy to see me standing up. They were just overjoyed.”

Tapp is undergoing post-intensive-care treatment which includes follow-up for her physical and mental health challenges.

Despite her experience, Tapp said that she is looking forward to getting back to work and helping others.

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