SHREVEPORT, La (KTAL/KMSS) – Willis-Knighton Medical Center is honoring a patient who touched their hearts while battling Covid.
On Wednesday, Willis- Knighton staff dedicated a Critical Care room to Terry Roberson, who died in 2021.
Roberson spent 99 days in the Covid ICU and later in the Critical Care Unit, where he was on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine for 73 days. He later went on to the WK Rehabilitation Institute for physical and occupational therapy but passed away on Jan. 18 after returning.
His daughter Ali Cain says one of his goals was to beat Covid and return to the hospital as a walking testimony to patients in the CCU.
“My dad, he told everybody. He said, ‘I’m going to come back, and I’m going to talk to the families and witness to them and just be like a support,'” said Cain.
Erin McDaniel, an RN with Willis-Knighton Health System, says the medical care team worked to bypass his lungs because of the damage from COVID. The ECMO machine provides prolonged cardiac and respiratory support by oxygenating a patient’s blood.
“So, the blood goes out of the body and is oxygenated through a mechanical lung and then replaced back into his body.”
Terry’s passing was not in vain. He made such an impact on the people he touched.
“He knew he would miss his family. He knew he would miss all of the things life brings. But he was confident about where he was going and about spreading that message with everyone,” said McDaniel.
“He loved the Lord, and he loved these people,” said Dana Roberson, Terry’s widow.
Two years have passed, and the hospital is keeping his legacy alive, honoring him by dedicating a room to him.
Those who knew Terry say even on his worst days, he was not afraid of what would happen. And even through the tears, Terry’s family is grateful the hospital is keeping his memory alive.
“I think it’s awesome. I think it’s very awesome. We were very surprised,” said Roberson.
Ali is also working to keep her father’s spirit alive. She just graduated nursing school in December 2022 and now works on the same floor that cared for her father.
“Me and my husband prayed about it, and I was like, ‘This is where I’m supposed to be, to finish what he wanted to start,'” said Cain.
