CT’s First Case of COVID-19 Recovering at Danbury Hospital

As word started to spread that the novel coronavirus was reaching pandemic status, and we all needed to take precautions, the first case in Connecticut was diagnosed in Wilton.

For Chris Tillett, Sunday, March 8 is a day he will probably never forget. Chris was the very first person to contract the coronavirus in the state of Connecticut.

For patient one, the virus hit hard, and Chris has spent the last few weeks fighting for his life in the ICU unit at Danbury Hospital.

But we have some good news to report, according to his wife Elizabeth, who told goodmorningwilton.com, that he was touch-and-go for a while, but he's now recovering.

Elizabeth was home with her five month old twins for two weeks while Chris was battling the virus, but now he's getting better each day.

During the time that Chris entered the hospital, family and friends really stepped up to help out. They even started a GoFundMe that has raised over $100,000 to benefit the family.

Even though his condition is improving daily, there's still going to be long road of recovery for Chris, his wife described what lies ahead for her husband to Good Morning Wilton:

My husband has a long road of rehab ahead of him to work on cognitive difficulties, muscle atrophy, weakness, speech challenges, and decreased lung capacity, to name a few. But he is a Tillett, a fighter, and a lovable teddy bear with two sweet boys and me to come home to–we can’t wait to have our rock back home. I can’t wait for his bear hugs and witty commentary, the boys can’t wait to get to lay on their Dad’s chest at bedtime, and our pups Ellie and Pyper can’t wait for their alpha, the leader of the Tillett Tribe, to be back in his arm chair.

Both Chris and Elizabeth credit the staff and doctors at Danbury Hospital for saving his life.