Mesquite

World War II Veteran, 95, Released From Hospital After Beating COVID-19, Pneumonia

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Roy Hayden Kinslow woke up at Mesquite’s Edgewood Rehabilitation and Care Center Saturday morning, a huge step in the right direction after two weeks in a hospital bed.

His daughter, Suzette Kinslow, said they’d taken him to Medical City Dallas after the 95-year-old experienced sudden fatigue, lack of thirst and lack of appetite.

They were all symptoms out of character for the World War II veteran, who, up until a couple of weeks ago, wasn’t on any medication, drove, and walked without the assistance of a cane.

"One thing about him is his incredible will to fight,” Kinslow said.

Even though COVID-19 was the last thing on their mind, he tested positive.

The most frightening thing was when they came back four days later and said he had pneumonia. That was the scary part,” Kinslow said.

She said scarier yet was the fear that the isolation of a quarantined hospital room would break her father’s spirit.

"Basically, our father, who was our leader and who was so strong, was lying in a hospital bed with no television and no radio at the mercy of medicine and our Lord, and thankfully our Lord pulled him through,” she said.

Two weeks and two days after he was admitted, Kinslow watched as her father was loaded into an ambulance to be transported to rehabilitation.

Tears ran down her cheeks as she clearly heard him yell out that he loved her.

“It doesn’t slip by for a moment that I and my family are in this position of being able to celebrate this moment and so many others aren’t able to, and my heart breaks for them. At the same time, I’m just trying to enjoy every moment right now,” Kinslow said.

She admitted the journey’s not over yet.

Still, Kinslow believes her 95-year-old father still has a lot of life left to live.

She said he’s grateful for the community’s prayers and hopes he can inspire others to hope for the best.

"Whatever situation that people are in right now, and there's so many different struggles and types of situations that people are having, just keep up the fight,” Kinslow said.

She doesn’t yet know how long her father will undergo occupational and physical therapy to regain his strength.

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