SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) – When communication was cut off, a Sarasota Memorial Hospital ICU nurse made sure a family could stay in touch with their loved one during his seven-week battle with COVID-19.

“There are angels working in the ICU,” Marcia Hefler told 8 On Your Side.

One of those angels, according to Dr. Steve Hefler’s family, is nurse Mark Cerroni.

“When I first got him I was given a report that the family really wanted to talk to him but his phone was dead,” Cerroni said.

That happened within 48 hours of the 77-year-old pediatrician and Navy veteran arriving at the hospital after his COVID-19 diagnosis in late March.

“We have iPads with FaceTime available,” Cerroni said.

But at that moment, he said he decided to bring in his own charger to power up the patient’s phone.

“It’s a charger,” he said, “but it made a lot more impact that I would have believed.”

That simple act allowed Dr. Hefler’s son Jon and his family to stay in touch while he worried about his father’s health thousands of miles away in San Diego.

“Even if a person is comatose you really should keep talking to them,” Dr. Hefler said.

He added he doesn’t remember anything during his 25 days in the ICU, but family has told him every time they called his blood pressure went up.

“If my father’s barely hanging on by a thread because we’re able to speak to him three, four, five times a day, I hope everybody else can do this,” Jon Hefler said.

The Hefler family’s mission during the coronavirus pandemic became raising money to buy phone chargers for hospitals nationwide.

Cerroni told 8 On Your Side it is his belief constant communication between patients and their loved ones makes a big difference.

“With any type of illness for that matter, but with this COVID-19 it’s very important because they feel isolated, they feel helpless,” he said.

Cerroni works the night shift, so he wasn’t there Friday for Dr. Hefler’s sendoff celebration, but he said he’s thrilled he is home after 49 days in the hospital.

“He dedicated his life to kids being a doctor and Steve has a wonderful family,” Cerroni said. “He served in the military and just to be able to continue on was fantastic.”

Dr. Hefler’s son has partnered with an organization called CHARGE, which stands for “Communication when Hospitalized Alone Requires Getting Energy.”     

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