ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – A silver lining amongst the hepatitis A outbreak linked to Famous Anthony’s as a Roanoke County woman is finally home after spending two months in the hospital.
Friends and family lined the parking lot of Back Creek Elementary School Wednesday night to welcome home Patrice Dalton. She was just released from the hospital after receiving a liver transplant.
“I’m overwhelmed. I just can’t believe all those people, that many people were here,” said Dalton. “It brought me to tears. I had no idea.”
Dalton says she was diagnosed with hepatitis A back in September after she and her family visited Famous Anthony’s. The Virginia Department of Health has linked dozens of hepatitis A cases to the locally-owned restaurant chain.
“We weren’t sure if she was going to be here much longer with us,” said Dalton’s daughter, Dara Hawkins.
After months of tests, dialysis and a liver transplant, Dalton is finally home.
“Just thankful to be home and then to see all those people is awesome. I’d like to hug them all but I can’t do that right now,” she said.
The road to recovery is far from over. Dalton must take immunosuppressive medication which makes day-to-day tasks riskier with her now compromised immune system.
But Dalton says she’s just lucky to be alive, unlike some of the other victims from the outbreak.
“I am so blessed, so blessed. God had everything laid out. My daughter, Ashley, says she gives God all the credit because everything fell right into place,” said Dalton.
The family’s message, make sure you’re up to date on your hepatitis A and B shots.