Yelm resident Mike Conley, 66, spent 75 days in the hospital battling COVID-19, and Friday, June 5, he finally made it home. He and his wife Karen Conley, 61, waved to passers by during a parade Friday night in Mike's honor.
Members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, VFW Post 5580, line up on Friday night, June 5, before a parade to honor Yelm resident Mike Conley, 66, who spent 75 days in the hospital battling COVID-19 and Friday finally made it home.
Yelm resident Mike Conley, 66, spent 75 days in the hospital battling COVID-19 and Friday, June 5, he finally made it home. He chats with friends following an automobile parade Friday night in his honor.
Yelm resident Mike Conley, 66, spent 75 days in the hospital battling COVID-19 and Friday, June 5, he finally made it home. He chats with friends following an automobile parade Friday night in his honor.
Yelm resident Mike Conley, 66, spent 75 days in the hospital battling COVID-19, and Friday, June 5, he finally made it home. He and his wife Karen Conley, 61, waved to passers by during a parade Friday night in Mike's honor.
“Tough as nails.”
Those were just some of the words that friends, family and fellow community members chose to describe 66-year-old Mike Conley after his recent recovery from COVID-19.
On Friday, June 5, Conley received a welcome-home procession as dozens of cars, trucks, motorcycles and police patrol vehicles drove by his residence on Van Trump Street while occupants honked, cheered and smiled.
“I never expected this, and it’s amazing,” said Conley, an Army veteran, while leaning against his walker and next to his wife, 61-year-old Karen Conley. “I’m already getting better.”
The Yelm Police Department, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5580 and the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association were just some of the groups that helped put it together, along with friends, family and Yelm Mayor JW Foster.
Conley is just one of more than 130 residents in Thurston County who have made a recovery from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Nationwide, more than 108,000 have died from the disease.
“I was very, very scared ‘cause I wasn’t sure if he was going to make it,” said Lynn Sample, 62, who was one of the event organizers and is Karen Conley’s sister. “It’s been emotional, and Mike, to our family, is a miracle.”
June 5 was Conley’s first day back home after spending 75 days in multiple hospitals fighting the virus. He spent 36 of those days on a ventilator, which severely damaged his muscular system and ability to talk.
Karen Conley — who also contracted the disease and quarantined alone in her home for 40 days without her husband — said Mike was taken by ambulance to Saint Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma in late March. He would later be transferred to Madigan Army Medical Center.
About three weeks ago, Conley was transferred from Madigan to the Good Samaritan Acute Rehabilitation Center to relearn how to walk and talk. At first, he couldn’t even squeeze the call button, but he progressed.
“He has come a long way since that,” Karen Conley said, adding that he’s lost about 40 percent of his muscle mass.
Sample said the surprising thing was that Mike Conley was on the dance floor of a family wedding just a week before he was admitted into the hospital.
Calling the procession quite humbling, Conley said he’s fortunate. He counts himself as “one of the lucky ones.”
“I don’t know why God gave me a second chance, but I’m hopefully going to use it for good,” he said. “It’s a very nice feeling to sit on your couch and all, but at the same time it’s a little bit of an adjustment. But it’s beautiful to be back here with my wife.”
During Conley’s absence from Yelm, Karen mostly stayed at home and continued to partially keep up with their business, Conley Suites Bed and Breakfast.
Over the last month, contract workers at the Skookumchuck Wind Farm project have been renting out their rooms. Karen Conley said they’re thankful for that, because they were set up to close once the virus forced statewide business closures.
While Mike was able to return home, he unfortunately would not be able to say goodbye to one of his housemates. The day before Conley was set to come home, the family’s 13-year-old Maltese dog, Levi, died.
Karen Conley said she’d like to thank the community, their family and the Ramtha School of Enlightenment for their support, their family’s faith group, and God for getting them through the turbulent time.
As for the future, Mike Conley still has physical therapy sessions to attend and a long road to recovery ahead, but he insists he will dance again.
