Greenwich COVID survivor completes NYC Marathon in honor of doctors and nurses who saved him
It would have been easy to return to his former sedentary lifestyle.
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Gabriel Cid, of Greenwich, chose New York City, where he grew up, for his first marathon ever. It was a significant feat tackled with his significant other.
“I remember turning to my wife on the Verrazano Bridge, saying, ‘We're running the New York City Marathon!’” Cid recalled. “Like, it's insane!”
Especially when you consider where he was over five years ago.
News 12 first met Cid as he left Greenwich Hospital in May 2020. It came after he spent 37 days there, a majority in a coma on a ventilator.
"Every nurse, every doctor—they’re angels,” Cid said emotionally that day.
He was wheeled out of the hospital, too weak to walk, but leaving alive was a win.
“I made a promise to them at Greenwich Hospital that I was going to change my life for them, to be a better person, so all that they did for me wasn't in vain,” Cid told News 12.
These days you'll find him at the gym several days a week—a place that used to be foreign to him.
“Before COVID, I was probably tipping the scales over 300 pounds. My activity consisted of maybe commuting to the city, and then walking my dog in the evening, ” Cid stated.
It would have been easy to return to his former sedentary lifestyle. But Cid didn’t.
“I literally started by walking a block with my wife holding my hand, reminding me to move my shoulders because I had complete muscle atrophy,” he recalled.
He then committed to running a 5K to mark one year since he was admitted to the ICU. His Greenwich Hospital angels were there to greet him at the end.
“There was one hill, and I just kept repeating Dr. Wainwright's name, Nurse Ellen's name,” he told News 12 back on April 13, 2021.
Cid's doctors and nurses were his motivation then and continue to be. At Mile 20 of the marathon, the pain set in.
“I just kept thinking back to my doctors and nurses, and I'm like, ‘This is why I'm doing this,’” Cid said. “I always reference back to what it must have been like in those rooms in the ICU, flipping me over, making sure my heart rate didn't go up, making sure I didn't have a high fever, making sure I survived the night. They must’ve gone through hell during those five weeks. I use that as motivation for me.”
For Cid, completing the marathon closes the COVID chapter of his life. His comeback has also influenced his family.
“My wife's a runner now. Two of my kids have joined the gym now. Even my dog got in better shape,” Cid said laughing.
He hits another milestone next week—turning 50 years old—and hopes his story will inspire someone else.
“I'm just a normal person. I'm not a natural born athlete. I wasn't in college sports or anything. I was just a regular dad,” Cid told News 12. “You’ve got to commit to making a change. And if I can do it, anybody can do it.”
