Rachel Hughes was thrilled Wednesday at the prospect of touching her husband, Rev. Terrence “Big T” Hughes, when they were briefly united on his release from the hospital where he’s battled COVID-19 for almost two months.
“I was grateful he is alive and I could touch him, I didn’t know if I could touch him, but I did,” Rachel Hughes said Wednesday afternoon. The couple look forward to celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary this July.
Nurses, doctors, frontline health workers, friends, family and supporters — more than 100 in all — cheered Terrence Hughes, clapping hands, shouting encouraging words and singing, as he was released from the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora.
Lying on a hospital gurney as he left the hospital, Rachel hugged him as he came out the door. They both cried, Rachel rubbed and patted his chest, they locked eyes, exchanging a loving glance, smiles hidden by the face-covering mask they both wore.
“I was emotional and kind of nervous, I was shaky; it’s been so long,” Rachel said.
Terrence Hughes was admitted to the hospital March 9 and was put on a ventilator a few days later. He was on and off the ventilator multiple times during his long stay.
Respiratory therapist Valerie Love, who attended to Hughes throughout his VA stay, and who extubated him from the ventilator, bumped elbows with Rachel outside the hospital. “Itap a miracle, isn’t it?” Love said.
While Terrence was battling coronavirus at the hospital, Rachel too became ill with COVID-19. Sick for about two weeks, Rachel was not hospitalized. She spent long hours thinking, and worrying, about her husband.
“Every time the phone rang, I was so scared to answer,” she said in fear of getting bad news. “It really taught me the meaning of pushing through. I had to keep pushing through.”
The reverend is co-pastor at New Covenant Christian Church/Alpha Omega Ministries Disciple of Christ in Denver. He was a candidate for Colorado House District 7 seat in March when he became ill. Hughes, who has held various church positions over the years, is director of Brother Jeff’s Community Health Initiative, where he runs the HIV/AIDS Grass Roots Initiative. He’s a past board chairman of the governor-appointed Colorado Advisory Council on AIDS.
“I’m so grateful to the ICU team, who took care of him, and so grateful to the community, who took care of me,” Rachel Hughes said. “They supported us financially and spiritually; it is truly a blessing.”
Terrence Hughes was transferred Wednesday to the NeuroRestorative medical clinic in Littleton. It’s undetermined how long his stay will be. He will be quarantined. When Hughes was put into an ambulance Wednesday, the crowd broke out in song and he smiled as the door closed.
Rachel knows that his room in Littleton will be on the first floor, ground level, and she’s looking forward to window visits.
“I’m just grateful he is alive and able to go to the next stage, which is the rehabilitation,” Rachel said. “Then, the next stage after that is coming home.”
