State Senator Jim Seward emerged from a medically-induced coma Saturday and was able to be taken off a ventilator at the Albany Medical Center, where he was undergoing treatment for COVID-19.
Senator Seward was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week and while doctors initially said his prognosis was good after he was admitted to Albany Medical Center on March 26, his condition rapidly deteriorated and he was placed on a ventilator last Thursday.
Updating the Milford community Saturday morning, Senator Seward’s wife Cindy, in self-quarantine at home with pneumonia and shingles, said her husband’s condition had improved slightly, but called the next few days crucial.
“I spoke with the doctor last night and Jim is responding to nurse commands and his condition is slightly improved,” Ms. Seward wrote Saturday morning on the Milford Community Facebook page.
That evening she shared the news that she had just spoken with her husband and that his ventilator had just been removed.
“Of course he will still need monitoring, but I thank you all for your outpouring [of support] for us,” she wrote.
Senator Seward, 68, has been battling bladder cancer on and off since 2016.
In November, he reported that the cancer had returned and in January, he said he wouldn’t be running again for his seat, ending a 34-year career.

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As of presstime, the number of confirmed cases in New York State was at 130,689, with new cases reported in 48 counties.
In Schoharie County, Monday’s numbers showed a total of 15 residents had tested positive for COVID-19; an additional non-county resident who works at SUNY Cobleskill has also tested positive.
The Health Department is monitoring 42 people in isolation or quarantine; an additional 67 people have completed their quarantine period and have been allowed to resume normal activities.
There have been no Schoharie County deaths from the virus.
All of those numbers are up from Friday’s when the Health Department reported 11 residents plus the SUNY worked has tested positive, 36 people were being monitored, and 58 were out of quarantine.
There have been no Schoharie County deaths from the virus.
Statistics from neighboring counties at presstime include: Otsego County—34 positives; Montgomery County—15 positives; Delaware County—29 positives; Greene County—24 positives; Albany County—319 positives; Schenectady County—138 positives.
In a press conference Sunday, Governor Cuomo said it appears that the number of COVID-19 deaths has been dropping with the number of new hospitalizations at 574, much lower than previous numbers.
“What is the significance of that? It’s too early to tell…maybe a blip in the data or the beginning of a shift…” he said.