'They saved my life': COVID-19 survivor documents his long, emotional recovery Hearst Television FacebookTwitterEmail But the other problems it triggered left him hospitalized for nearly three months. The 51-year-old from rural Humphrey, Nebraska, said his recovery has been long and emotional. "I went from basically being bedridden, and one of my physical therapists stood me up," he said. "And I looked him eye to eye and I knew I was gonna walk again." Schroeter documented all his milestones at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals-Lincoln Campus: the first time standing, walking on a robotic treadmill called a Lokomat, and using a walker and walking on his own.