MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — Glenn Harla returned to his Mt. Juliet home on Tuesday, after beating COVID-19 at TriStar Summit Regional Medical Center in Hermitage.
Doctors say the 66-year-old nearly died three times during his 44-day stay at the hospital, but they deemed him healthy enough to be released on Tuesday. Doctors and nurses lined the hospital lobby to wish him well as he left the hospital elevator one last time. He carried a sign that read "I CRUSHED COVID."
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Harla shouted as the doctors and nurses cheered around him.
Harla's wife, Cris, gave Harla a hug when he was wheeled over to her.
"I just can't say enough about them," Harla said, referring to the medical staff at the hospital. "They saved my life."
But Harla's emotional exit was followed by an equally emotional return to his Cobblestone Landing neighborhood in Mt. Juliet. Dozens of his family and neighbors lined the streets to welcome him home, with a Mt. Juliet Police Department escort.
"He is an amazing person, amazing friend and we have just prayed relentless, constantly," one neighbor said.
"I love everybody, you guys are so awesome," Harla shouted as he saw the outpouring of support.
Harla will be the first to tell you how critical his medical infusions of antibodies were to his recovery, but in a close second was this neighborhood-sized dose of love.
"it’s the best neighborhood I’ve ever lived in," Harla said. "And I’m never moving, I’m never moving!"
