'Highlight of my career': Saxophonist who survived COVID plays for hospital that saved him

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - In 2020, as saxophonist Steve Barlotta was recovering from a near-fatal bout with COVID that included 24 days on a ventilator, the Jackson resident made a promise to everyone who treated him at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold Township.

“He was like, ‘I’m going to play a concert out in the parking lot for everyone,” recalled Shannon Lenahan, a neurologic clinical specialist who helped Barlotta bounce back from near-total paralysis.

“We were like, ‘OK,'" Lenahan said. "People say stuff like that all the time, and they go home and get sidetracked.”

Barlotta did not get sidetracked. On Wednesday Barlotta and his band Sensational Soul Cruisers performed a 90-minute concert on the hospital’s campus as a thank you to the doctors, nurses and rehab therapists who saved his life and restored his health.

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“To see it actually happen and come to fruition was really special,” Lenahan said. “He didn’t forget. He was a little emotional, and it was a little emotional for us to be able to say, ‘This is why we did it.’”

Barlotta, who has played alongside Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Gary U.S. Bonds and the Monkees, capped the show with two numbers that came straight from the heart: “You’re All I Need to Get By” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

“It was something I had to do for them, in some ways closure, but also to open a new chapter,” Barlotta said. “They can take this, me surviving, and bring it to other people in their field: ‘Hey, there’s this guy who spent four months in the hospital, was on a ventilator for four weeks, and this is him now.’”

Also in the crowd were members the staff at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Tinton Falls, which treated Barlotta after he left the hospital.

“To come full circle after not being able to do anything for yourself, I felt like if I could pull this off, it would be a testament to the health care I received and also an inspiration for them — that their efforts were not for naught,” Barlotta said. “I want to remind them: It was worth it.”

'This sounds like crap'

Barlotta, now 59, went on a ventilator in early April 2020. His condition soon took a particularly perilous turn, and doctors considered performing a tracheotomy as they awaited plasma from COVID-19 survivors. But his son Erik urged them to hold off, knowing it would end his dad’s music career.

All told, Barlotta spent 37 days in intensive care. When he emerged, he could move only his left thumb. Months of intensive rehab followed. Aa soon as he was able, Barlotta picked up his tenor sax and began belting out notes. His wind was in short supply at first.

“He would bring in these videos of him playing and say, ‘How can I increase my breath support so I can play longer,’” Lenahan said. “I was like, ‘Steve, that sounds great.’ He was like, ‘This sounds like crap.’”

Barlotta said he needed to be able to play for 90 minutes straight in practice before he could stake the stage for a show. Throughout the summer of 2020 he wasn’t even close.

“Two minutes, then I get dizzy and lightheaded, and I have to sit down,” he told Lenahan at the time.

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After Wednesday’s show, Lenahan understands why he was so frustrated.

“To see him perform a full show, being around people who love him and are so proud of him, was absolutely fantastic,” she said.

Her colleagues agreed.

“It’s a morale boost, that’s for sure,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of CentraState’s Critical Care Unit. “When everyone pulls together for a concerted effort to help heal patients and you see them a year or two later, doing what they love the most, it’s a great feeling.”

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Mark Wiko, a respiratory specialist at CentraState, said it was hard to envision this when Barlotta was at his sickest.

“To see a patient turn around like that and get back his life and be able to entertain people, it’s very inspirational,” Wiko said.

'Friends for life'

Barlotta wants to be clear about one thing: COVID’s not totally over for him. His sense of smell never came back. He experiences episodes of brain fog, fatigue and rapid heartbeat. He’s made it a point to reach out to fellow long-haulers and offer support.

“It bothers me when people (doubt) long-haulers,” he said. “I tell people, ‘You’re not alone.’”

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The Sensational Soul Cruisers keeps a busy gig schedule, but Barlotta said no show can compare with the one they staged Wednesday. There were tears in the audience and tears onstage.

Tears of joy. Tears of gratitude.

“It was the highlight of my career,” he said. “These people have become friends for life.”

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: COVID patient at CentraState hospital plays sax as thank you