Wednesday, April 22
3pm report: Today i got a phonecall from Michu, a OT therapist who is working with dad, just as i was pulling in to deliver his morning...
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A JOURNEY TO
COVID-19 SURVIVAL
How my Dad beat COVID-19 in 6 weeks
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WHY
At the beginning of the year, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to grow overseas, my daily routine remained unaffected. The Pandemic was easy to disregard as it was halfway around the globe, but in this interconnected age, we now know that, nowhere is too far away. However, faster than I could have possibly imagined, the virus began to spread around the world and that distance gradually shortened itself until it ended up in my country, state, county and then my family.
On March 24th at approximately 1am, my Mom placed a panicked call to 911. As a result my Dad was rushed to Greenwich Hospital. He was exhibiting strong symptoms of Covid-19 i.e. fever, shortness of breath, dry cough, chills, etc. Over the course of his six week journey, he battled through 9 days on a ventilator, 9 days of antibiotic treatment, 4 CT scans, 2 internal bleeding episodes, 1 Renal ultrasound, 6 blood transfusions, a colonoscopy, an upper endoscopy, a second brief intubation, a silent heart attack, and his 80th birthday. No person deserves to go through this, not to mention while isolated from those he wished to see most.
While 41 days is a long time to persevere, especially through so much bad news, I knew I had to take a positive and active role in order to make sure everything possible was done for him in terms of his medical care and comfort. He devoted his life to me, my Mom and my Sister, and he is a great grandfather, known as Pa, to the grandkids. I owed it to my mother as she was also isolated and exhibiting manageable symptoms at home in isolation. She needed our support to navigate this journey. I definitely owe a debt of gratitude to the 21 doctors, 55 nurses, 2 social workers, 2 physical therapists and 2 occupational therapists that made my Dad’s recovery possible, without them, he would not be home with us today.
I created this blog, which is a day to day account, not only to honor my father and to keep our friends and loved ones updated on his progress, but as a way to distract myself during this process. It was my way of coping, it helped to quell the pain of constantly worrying about the people who had always shown me love and support. Growing up and living in Harrison, NY, we always had a sense of protection and invincibility, and when situations that seem so foreign to us like COVID-19 happen to us that imaginary barrier is shattered. This stops us in our tracks and causes us to re-evaluate our lives and find strength in ourselves. This is an inter strength we never knew we had. Most importantly, as many of us continue to live in isolation, I wanted to create this outlet as a way to connect with our friends and family, and to share a story of hope and triumph during these uncertain times.
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Tuesday, April 21
6:00pm report: Hello - Great news - Dad was able to shave and feels so fresh and clean now… Just heard from Donna, she is a Social Worker...
Monday, April 20
12pm Family update: Today i checked in with Nancy, she is dads nurse for the day and she said he is really doing ok. Today he will be...
Sunday, April 19
3pm report: Today I reached out to a few nurses who were kind enough to reach out to me on personal cell phones to either face time with...
Saturday, April 18
4.00pm report: Dad is settling in nicely at Burke - He already has begun his physical therapy sessions, they are short and hard but he...
Friday, April 17
Good Morning - Today, April 17, I am happy to report that almost 1 month after a 911 call and an immediate admittance to Greenwich...
Thursday, April 16
8.30am report: Just heard from Dr Ward - wanted to let me know that dad is resuming his light diet and doing well. Being off oxygen is...
Wednesday, April 15
Selfie from Dad in a chair this morning. 12.30pm report: Just heard from Helen, a social worker at Greenwich Hospital and after yesterday...
Tuesday, April 14
11am family report: First call this morning, again was from dad - he said he guess he was ok because he was already back in his...
Monday, April 13
1am Family report: Just checked in and the nurse was in with dad. He has already received his IV Bolus and now is getting the unit of...
Sunday, April 12
12am report: Late night check in with dads nurse Yadira. She felt like so far in her shift he is doing really well. He is down to 1 Litre...
Saturday, April 11
12.30pm report: Dad seemed to do very well overnight. He slept well, and this morning he was alert and even ate breakfast (pureed foods,...
Friday, April 10
12.20pm report: Dr Ward just called, great news - he thinks dad is really doing a lot better today. He has been eating his thickened...
Thursday, April 9
11.30am report: I just heard from Dr Ward and he was feeling that dad was doing more of the same or even a bit better today. They were...
Wednesday, April 8
12am report: checked in with Nurse Emily once more before heading to bed. She had just gotten the nights blood tests back and his...
Tuesday, April 7
1am report: Just had a check in with Nurse Emily - poor thing lives up in New Haven and drives down every day for work - she has come in...
Monday, April 6
2.20pm report: Just heard from Dr. Joyce who is taking care of dad today. She says his breathing/COVID/pneumonia inflamation markers are...
Sunday, April 5
12.30am report: I just called and checked in with Deon, not Dan.. He said all steady for the night. He mentioned that dad has been...
Saturday, April 4
1pm report: Called the telemetry unit this am to check up on dad and they are not budging. They has assigned a dr. or a nurse who is...
Friday, April 3
8.45am report: I just called and checked in and dad was able to stay the night in the ICU. I’m not sure about the specifics of that stay,...
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