A Suffolk man got a rousing welcome back from family and friends Wednesday as he finally headed home following a brutal and lengthy battle with COVID-19.

Dennis Harrington, a 65-year-old investigator for the Suffolk County DA's Office, has finally been released from Mather Hospital 76 days later.

Friends, family and co-workers were waiting outside to clap and cheer as Harrington made his way outside.

"For all you guys that sent your prayers in, it really kept me going," he says.

Harrington's loved ones say him being with them again is a miracle. Doctors say he made a remarkable recovery with his wife Maggie by his side the entire time.

"I attribute his life not only the doctors and nurses, but the man upstairs," says Maggie Harrington.

With COVID-19 protocols in place, no visitation from family or friends was allowed at the hospital. He instead used something called nucleus communication, which the hospital set up in his room. It's essentially a big iPad that his wife and family could call at any time.

"That was my central line of communication not only so I can eyeball my husband but if the nurses came in, I can speak to her and ask how is he doing," says Maggie Harrington.

Tony Ferrara, one of his critical care nurses, says Harrington's spirit was better once he started feeling better.

"Him being surrounded by Maggie, his wife, and all of us ... the nursing staff supporting him, he really started to bring his spirits around, and it was really something to watch," says Ferrara.

One doctor says Harrington's case was exceptionally bad. He says he came in and had difficulty breathing and then he got worse and needed to go on life support. They thought on multiple occasions he might not be able to pull through.

But now with her husband finally back, Maggie says she thinks her husband needed to be reminded that God has a plan for him and it just wasn't his time.