Duncanville Resident Recovering From COVID-19 After Two Months in Coma

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vincente remediz
Police officers salute Dallas ISD police officer Vincente Remediz while he was in Methodist Mansfield Medical Center. Photo courtesy of Shelley Lenamond

Even as he lay still in a hospital bed, Sgt. Vincente Remediz of the Dallas ISD Police Department was on his way to becoming an inspiration.

After more than two months in a coma while battling COVID-19, he left Methodist Mansfield Medical Center on his way to recovering from the deadly virus. He was moved to Kindred Care, an independent care facility in Arlington.

“We weren’t sure he was going to wake up, and then he just did,” said Dr. Shelley Lenamond, who practices at Methodist Mansfield. “It was inspiring for all of us to see it as well, to watch a COVID-19 patient get through this and survive.”

Lenamond said discussions had been held with the 61-year-old Remediz’s family for final preparations before his miraculous recovery. He had spent weeks on a ventilator and had several internal problems, including failing kidneys.

“Let’s put it this way, the doctor said, ‘I’d like for you to come in and see what we see.’ I took that as a life decision,” his brother, 62-year-old Tom Remediz, said. “You have to give credit to the prayer warriors – and those doctors and nurses were there every step of the way.”

Vincente
Vicente Remediz

Officers pay tribute to Remediz

One of the nurses, Mike Bush, orchestrated a special birthday celebration/prayer vigil for Vincente Remediz, a resident of Duncanville, in early May (his birthday was April 20), Lenamond said. It involved police officers from his department coming to the hospital, standing outside and singing “Happy Birthday.”

“He was still in a coma, but I think he knew what was going on,” Lenamond said.

His care team at Methodist Mansfield gave him a handmade quilt as he was wheeled outside to see his family for the first time in many weeks. A motorcade of police cars and motorcycles escorted Remediz’s ambulance as he was driven to the Arlington facility to regain his strength.

“We held it together as a family,” Tom Remediz said, noting that the entire family went into self-quarantine. Three of Vincente Remediz’s children tested positive but have recovered with no major problems.

Tom and Vincente Remediz served in the Army at the same time before Vincente returned to civilian life and Tom made a career out of the military (now retired). Vincente has been in law enforcement for over a quarter century, including almost two decades with the Dallas ISD Police Department.

Remediz recovering from COVID-19 battle

Tom said Vincente is a devoted family man who loves his children very much. He was also a first responder, and Lenamond said that spirit might have helped him in his battle.

“He won the war. There were a couple of really tough battles, though,” she said. “Him being a tough soul, in general, probably helped him.”

Tom said he is not sure what his brother’s plans are for returning to work. Both he and Lenamond said there is much work to be done before getting to that, however.

“It’s promising for him. He seems to be recovering fairly fast. It’s definitely a strong possibility, I think,” Tom said.

Tom’s also hoping his brother is strong enough for another thing this fall.

“We always go to the opening game for the Cowboys,” he said. “It would be great if he’s well enough by then to go – if they’re playing.”

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Rick Mauch
Rick Mauch is a veteran of more than four decades in the media. He began writing in high school and immediately went into broadcasting for almost a decade after graduating, working his way to morning drive in Birmingham, Alabama. However, realizing how much he missed writing (though he did continue to do some during his time in top-40 radio), Rick returned to what he loved and has been doing it ever since. Rick's career has spanned a plethora of media outlets, including community journalism, sports, entertainment, politics and more. He's worked in print, broadcast and online media. He also spent several years doing public relations for a children's home in East Texas - still writing on the side, of course. When he's not writing, Rick loves to play golf and do Bigfoot research. He's an avid believer. He also made his first hole-in-one in June of 2020. Rick is married to Junell Mauch. They have five children and three granddaughters