Sunset Park Matriarch Home For Mother’s Day, Recovered From Coronavirus

Maria Rodriguez is home from NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn, where she was recovering from coronavirus, just in time for Mother’s Day to be celebrated with her daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

The 87-year-old matriarch was the hospital’s 850th patient with COVID-19 to be discharged and was sent off with cheers and applause from hospital staff yesterday.

Her grandson Octavio Vargas, Jr., a housekeeper at NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn, escorted her out.

“I’m so happy to see her go home after beating the coronavirus,” said Vargas. “This is a great day for our family and our community in Brooklyn. We so glad to have her home in time for Mother’s Day this weekend.”

Rodriguez, who has been a longtime resident of Sunset Park, thanked doctors, nurses, housekeepers, and dietary workers who visited and cared for her each day during her recovery.

“This hospital saved my life. I’m so grateful and I hope that my story gives others hope,” Rodriguez said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been a monumental challenge for everyone in health care,” Frank Volpicelli, MD, chief of medicine at NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn said at the event. “This recovery is just one example of how our team rose to the occasion and worked tirelessly to help 850 people—and counting—recover from this severe illness and return home to their families. This is a proud moment for all of the heroes who work here.”

NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn also wanted to remind neighbors that while it continues to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, the hospital remains open and available for other health concerns, including emergency care and urgent or medically necessary surgeries, and urges neighbors not to delay care they need over fears of contracting coronavirus. To schedule a follow-up appointment with a specialist or find a doctor for a new health concern, visit nyulangone.org or call 844-698-7243.