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 working with my dad to make one phone call a day.. They are not bringing anyone to the phone for our calls… So we wait.. no new is good news for now.

5:00pm report: Family report only: So i just got a call from Dr. French - she is working with dad in the Telemetry unit. Dad continues to be extremely disoriented and confused with garbled speech. This is concerning, however slightly expected since he was on days of sedation. They have ordered a Cat Scan which showed no acute issue - no stroke, no bleeding, so that is a good sign. They will assume this is all from the infection and sedation in the ICU. They say it will take time, should hope to start clearing by Monday.Tuesday. One thing that has helped patients suffering from these long term effects is the presence of a family member to talk and stay close - obviously not an option here, so we are working with Dr French to set up face time phone calls and audio phone calls as well. Also, his swallowing has been compromised due to the intubation as well. The muscles are extremely weak and he is working with a speech/language pathologist to help work with him on swallowing meds, food and to help him to start feeding himself. He did not tolerate the feeding tube that they tried yesterday, so they have switched most of his meds and food intake to IV. The Troponin levels is something they have been monitoring all along. The jump to a 6 in 1 day was concerning and there is no way of knowing if it is from the virus or a separate heart attack. He is on Heprin to thin the blood in an effort to reduce any clotting. The levels are coming back down and are currently at a 4. His kidney functions are also no great - they have been fairly consistent and need monitoring - so they are no getting better yet not getting worse. His tests also show that he now has bacterial infections of the lung - this is being treated with antibiotics. So his case is pretty complicated and he is pretty sick in many ways. Everything will take time.

5.00pm report: We finally heard from Dr. French who has been working with dad since he got to the telemetry unit. He has fought hard to make it though the respiratory element of this virus - his oxygen levels remain good without ventilator support, however, his recovery remains very challenging and still a bit unclear what longer term damage may have been done while fighting off the virus, and what other health issues may arise in his weakened state. Updates come once a day now so will be sure to let you know next we hear.

8pm report: Had a phone call with Dad - mom, felicia and i were on it. We told him how much we loved him, and he responded with an I Love You… and Where are you?

A little vino in honor of dad.....