Metro Detroit doctor who survived COVID-19 but lost father to virus shares his story

DETROIT – A Metro Detroit doctor who knows the coronavirus (COVID-19) from every angle -- as an expert who treated it, a patient who survived it and a son who lost a father to it -- is sharing his important perspective on the threat.

UPDATE -- May 25, 2020: Michigan coronavirus cases up to 54,881; Death toll now at 5,240

Dr. Scott Kaatz has a unique perspective on the virus and the threat facing the country. He warns the threat is still very present, even though cases are on the decline.

More on Dr. Kaatz:

• Michigan State coaches meet doctor who ended up on ventilator after treating COVID-19 patients
• Michigan doctor fighting for life with coronavirus among first to receive plasma treatment
• Hear from a Henry Ford doctor enrolled in plasma study who survived coronavirus

On Easter Sunday, as families were settling into their couches to watch church services online, Kaatz was preparing to go on a ventilator.

Having already treated many of the first patients to face COVID-19 in Michigan, he was realistic about what that meant.

“About half the patients that are on a ventilator die from this disease,” Kaatz said. “I knew that going in.”