COVID-19, Local, Park Forest, Science

Olympia Fields Police Officer Mark Akiyama Released from Hospital After Beating COVID-19


Olympia Fields Police Officer Mark Akiyama beat COVID-19
Olympia Fields Police Officer Mark Akiyama beat COVID-19. (Photo: Family)

Olympia Fields, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Park Forest Firefighters Local 1263 helped spread the good news: Olympia Fields Police Officer Mark Akiyama was released from the hospital after he fought for his life against COVID-19 and won.

“This is Olympia Fields Police Officer, Mark Akiyama,” the firefighters said in a social media post. “A graduate of Park Forest’s Rich East, class of 1990. He fought and fought and fought for weeks and was released yesterday after being on a ventilator. We are very happy to see him going home!”

According to friends of Officer Akiyama on Facebook, “This is what a CHAMP looks like.” The officer endured a fever of 104 for over a week, suffered double pneumonia, was twice on a ventilator, had chest pains, and more.

“This is an awful, awful sickness,” Park Forest Firefighters Local 1263 said. “Please be safe and keep practicing your social distancing and staying at home.”

In another measure of good news, it appears Illinois has “flattened the curve,” with the peak six days ago on April 8, 2020, according to projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent global health research center at the University of Washington. The state of Indiana is due to peak today, April 14, 2020, according to the same source.

We applaud the strength and resilience of Officer Akiyama.


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