COVID-19 Humanity Betrayal ㅤ Memory Project

We closed on our house Aug 27th. He had a “cold”. He progressively got worse. On September, our children were diagnosed CV+. We were monitoring their O2 sats and began monitoring his. They stayed in the low to mid 90s. On Monday, Sept. 6th, his sats were 91. He had vomiting and diarrhea. On Tuesday, he asked me to make an appointment for him. They couldn’t see him until Wednesday morning. Wednesday, Sept. 8th, he went to Mercy Medical Center where he tested positive for CV19. They administered Monoclonal antibodies and breathing treatments in attempt to raise his sats. They were unable to raise them, so they transported him to Winn Parish Medical Center. We stood at the back of the ambulance and the girls told him that they loved him. That was the last time my little girl saw her daddy.  They started Remdesivir when he got to Winn Parish. We were not allowed to visit him at Winn Parish.  They were unable to stabilize his O2, so they transported him to St. Frances Medical Center in Monroe, La on Friday Sept. 10th. I was allowed to  see him on Sunday, Sept. 12th. He was on mask and cannula oxygen. He was refusing ventilation, but was already given Fentanyl. The PA came in and spoke with us and asked me to convince my husband to agree to ventilation if the need arose. He told us that it would allow his body to rest so that it could fight the Covid Pneumonia. Eventually, my husband agreed. When I left him that day, he was eating spaghetti. He had asked for a Starbuck frappacino, but the hospital Starbucks was closed. The next morning at around 6am, the nurse called and said that he was going to be placed on the vent. I asked them to let him call me before they did. He called me and I told him that I loved him. He called his son. They sedated and vented him. I was able to come up to the hospital that day and every day after that for an hour.

On Sept. 14th, they discovered diminished doppler sounds in his left foot. He was recommended for a thrombolectomy. I was told if it wasn’t successful, that my husband was facing an amputation. They called the discoloration of his toes “Covid Toes”. The procedure was completed and several clots were removed from his leg between the groin and ankle. His coloration and lower extremity pulse improved somewhat.

For the next few days, his O2 sats improved to mid-90s. They were rotating between supine and prone, with his sats improving most in prone. His chest x-rays improved a little so they left him proned more often. He developed a pressure sore on his left cheek.

He was sedated the morning of Sept. 13th and they started a feeding tube on Sept. 16th.

Sept. 19th, they were attempting sedation weaning and breathing trials. He was not doing well with the trials and struggled with sedation weaning.

Sept. 20th, the conditions of his left foot declined drastically and this is when they discussed gross amputation. His right foot was beginning to look discolored as well. During the night shift between Sept. 21st and the 22nd, while they were rotating him, his tubes were pulled out. His feeding tube backed out and dumped into his lungs. They told me that he was already on whatever antibiotics they would have given him to prevent infection from this.

Sept. 23th, despite the PA telling me that if anyone on the Covid floor could beat this, it was my husband.  The attending tells me that he seemed unlikely to survive despite them doing all they could. He had spiked a fever since the aspiration event.

Around Sept. 25th, they began discussing a sedation vacation as they were concerned that he had suffered a stroke during the procedure on Sept. 14th. This was the first time they had indicated this concern. This was also they first time they had mentioned that he had de-sated to the 50s during the procedure due to his vent coming unattached. They reduced sedation until he was able to open his eyes. His daughter and I were able to talk to him. He nodded in response to our questions. He could feel us holding his right hand, but not his left. I told him that I loved him. That evening he became severely distressed so they placed him back under full sedation. That was the last time I talked with him.

Sept. 27th, his hemoglobin was dropping, but they couldn’t tell where he was bleeding. He was given two units of blood, returned fully to sedation, and placed on a paralytic due to sat deterioration. His fever had finally broke.

Oct. 1st, the clots had returned to his left leg and there were decreased pulse sounds in his right foot. He had been moved from the Covid wing to the CCU despite still testing positive for Covid. He was fully sedated and on a paralytic, yet still fully restrained. Renal failure was beginning and the doctor discussed the need for dialysis. Over the next couple of days, he entered into multi-system organ failure. I got to visit him on Oct. 2nd and that’s when the doctor told me I needed to think about a DNR and end-of-life decisions. On Oct. 2nd, he was in respiratory failure. When I went to see him on Oct. 5th, the doctor and I discussed the end of life. We would be faced with that decision very soon.

That night at 10:12pm the hospital called and said we didn’t have long. I got there by 11:00pm and he passed at 11:59pm.