Longtime Muskogee Nurse Recovers After Difficult Battle With COVID-19

The family of a longtime nurse from Muskogee serving on the frontlines said she has had a very long and difficult battle with COVID-19.

After three weeks on a ventilator, she has finally turned a corner and will be coming home soon.

Melissa Bass said her mom Brenda Benson is the kind of woman who gives her whole heart to everyone she meets, both as a nurse, and away from work.

"The selflessness, the caring, the gentleness, and she's funny as well," Bass said.

Benson has been a nurse for 30 years, and for the past year, she's worked with COVID-19 patients on the front lines in Muskogee. In January, she began a battle of her own after getting the virus and had to be hospitalized.

"She went into cardiac arrest, they had to shock her heart and intubate her," Bass said.

Bass said Benson spent 21 days on a ventilator. Benson’s grandson Dante Miller said those weeks were some of the scariest he's ever experienced as a nurse himself.

"Nothing is scarier than seeing someone bright and alive being intubated and sedated," Miller said.

Miller and Bass said they turned to prayer, and so did nurses, doctors, friends, and family all over. Eventually, Benson turned a corner, and now, she is finally recovering.

"It was a rollercoaster, but it's something we won't forget," Miller said. "It boosted our faith in God even more."

Benson is now in inpatient rehab and could be home next week.

Bass and Miller said Benson is a fighter, and she's proof that people can get through this virus, even if things look impossible.

"Most of all, I truly believe it was the power of prayer she made it through this," Bass said.

If you would like to help the family with medical expenses, you can find the GoFundMe link here.