It was a moment nine months in the making, and one that a New Jersey family thought might never come.
It was quite the homecoming for Rob Alongi. Family, friends and neighbors lined Samantha Way in Spotswood, holding signs and wiping away tears as he came back home for the first time in nearly a year.
The 51-year-old Alongi is now a COVID survivor, and for the first time in months was able to hug his sons — which was the first thing he did when he got home. Alongi hadn't even seen his boys since before his lung transplant.
"It's been hard, very hard," said his 13-year-old son, Lucas.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Alongi, who wasn't vaccinated at the time, didn't smoke and had no prior health problems when he tested positive for COVID in October, as did the rest of the family. But he was the one struck hardest.
"It was really horrible. The day he was intubated, I begged them to let me come in," said his wife, Cynthia Alongi.
She became his advocate, remaining by his side the entire time, even when they were told his lungs were failing.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
"We were told many times he wasn’t going to make it. I was called a couple of nights…'Just to let you know, you’ll probably get a call from us at 2 a.m. that he passed,'" she said.
Alongi was placed in a medically induced coma for five months. Then in February, Cynthia saw a Tik Tok of a man who had received a double lung transplant at the University of Florida’s Shands Hospital.
Alongi later got on a plane down to Gainesville, with Cynthia not far behind.
"I became the mother I never wanted to be: an absentee mother. I’m a stay-at-home mom, this is the first time I've ever been away from my children," said Cynthia.
Of his wife, Alongi said simply: "She’s amazing, she’s the reason I’m still here."
He underwent a successful lung transplant in April, and spent the next three months in recovery and rehab. On Wednesday, he was grateful to be alive — and grateful to the donor who gave him the chance to come home.
"I don’t know how I can convey thank you for the second chance I've been given," Alongi said, adding that he has since been vaccinated.
The couple said they’re also grateful to their neighbors for welcoming them home, and to their family who took leaves of absence from work to stay with their sons.
