Hospitalized since 2020, Briton spends third Christmas away from family

Briton Steve Lavinier, 59, spent his third Christmas away from his family since being hospitalized in March 2020 due to Covid-19. DJ developed persistent effects as a result of the infection, such as severe brain damage that left him unable to walk, talk and eat. However, his twin brother Bobby says he hopes that in 2023, Steve will finally leave the hospital ward and return home.

At the time of his contamination, Steve was placed in an induced coma, and upon awakening, doctors discovered that he was suffering from acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis. The disease, while rare, is usually fatal because it involves the body’s autoimmune response, resulting from an infection, that directs the body to attack myelin, a structure that protects neurons.

“Things could have been so much worse. We should be thankful that Stevie is still here. When you Google his diagnosis, the first paragraph that comes up says people usually don’t survive a week. But it’s a miracle that Stevie is still here. His soul is still here. , I know he can still hear us and we are doing everything we can to bring him home – Bobby, who was part of a musical duo with his brother before the pandemic, tells the UK newspaper The Mirror.

In recent weeks, his brother has moved his toes and arms, contributing to expectations that Steve will return home next summer (June in the Northern Hemisphere). Currently, he can only leave the hospital for a short visit every eight weeks for a few hours.

At the last meeting, on November 18, the family celebrated Bobby and Steve’s birthday. Now, Steve’s wife, Julie, has gotten the green light to carry out the necessary renovations on their home to permanently house her husband.

To cover costs, Bobby and Julie started crowdfunding, which already has 35 thousand euros. They hope to raise another 30,000, the amount needed to complete the adaptation works.

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“Once that (work) is done, the plan is to take him home on weekends. The love and support we have received from people has been more than encouraging and is part of what keeps me going,” says Bobby.

Bobby believes he and Steve contracted Covid-19 during an event in Madrid, Spain, shortly before social distancing measures were imposed. The brothers have been touring internationally as DJs since 1984.

Bobby says that during a meeting shortly after their return to England, they both started choking. At the time, he presented a worse condition, while Steve seemed to improve.

Bobby was the first to be hospitalized, where he was put into a coma to treat the infection. After recovering, he was discharged – but two days later Steve had to be hospitalized.

However, doctors became alarmed when Steve became unresponsive after waking from a coma, prompting tests to prove he had leukoencephalitis caused by the coronavirus.