As the illness progressed, Nicewarner said he put off going to the hospital until he could not any more.

He was taken to the hospital on May 24, as his condition worsened, according to a University of Maryland Medical System news release.

“My fear was I’m going to go into the hospital, and I am not coming back out,” Nicewarner said.

Nicewarner does not remember much of his hospital stay, but his family remembers those days well.

Once admitted to the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center’s Emergency Room, Nicewarner’s wife, Cindy, said her husband’s health deteriorated fast.

He was on a ventilator for 10 days and was heavily sedated because the machine had to be set at its highest setting, Cindy Nicewarner said.

Because of coronavirus restrictions, Steve Nicewarner did not have his family by his side.

“The hardest part for us was knowing that he would be waking up, and the sedation would be wearing off, and he would realize where he was, and then no familiar faces,” Cindy Nicewarner said.

“When they came around that corner pushing his wheelchair, it was like, oh my gosh, it was very emotional,” Cindy Nicewarner said.

The University of Maryland Medical System said Steve Nicewarner was the 1,000th COVID-19 positive patient to go home from the system’s hospitals.

The Nicewarner family said they are thankful for the care Steve Nicewarner received at the hospital.