In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic's arrival in North Texas, a 63-year-old man visited the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas for the second time in a week. The man was admitted on March 20 and within 48 hours, his condition had deteriorated rapidly.
For the next three weeks, nearly 100 nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, radiologists, X-ray technicians, clinical dietitians and other health care workers would try to save the life of the patient in Room 335.
The Dallas Morning News interviewed 54 of those who played a role in the case, providing a rare inside look at the work that goes into treating just one patient with COVID-19. Their work represents one case, at one hospital, but it illustrates the importance of flattening the curve — a phrase many people were only beginning to learn in the middle of March.
In some ways, they say, during a time when hospital capacity has been measured by the number of ICU beds and ventilators, this case was a true test of their ability to respond to this crisis.
Read more from NBC 5's media partner The Dallas Morning News.
