Our Story…

My Mom & I brought the dreaded flu (“COVID” or “DELTA” or whatever you want to label it) home at the end of July 2021. We were in Kentucky on a mini vacation visiting The Ark Encounter and The Creation Museum. We fell ill almost immediately upon our return. Both of us sailed through pretty well! It took me about 10 days total and 3 of those days were bad. It never stopped me from doing anything on a daily basis. My Mom struggled a bit more with weakness being her main symptom. At 77 she is a trooper and continuously shows us all how important it is to take care of our health! Both kids got it too! None of us are vaxxed for personal reasons. Me because my doctor said absolutely not! I am putting this out there because even after what you are about to read… we stand by our personal decision and always believe in choice.

All seemed good until…

August 17, 2021 was by far the most difficult day of my life. This was the day I took Gary to Summit Hospital in Oconomowoc, WI. I didn’t have a choice and we held off as long as we possibly could in his fight with
“COVID”…  I am skeptical to say that he actually had “COVID” – or whatever variant they eventually would label him with. I never actually saw the test results and am skeptical with western medicine in general. He was home fighting respiratory symptoms (never a fever or loss of taste or smell), and we were in the middle of moving from Milwaukee County to Waukesha County AND things were CRAZY! Tuesday, August 17th he woke up with a swollen calf and ankle so I watched him throughout the day. By evening it was worse and I had no choice but to take him to the hospital for fear of a blood clot. We arrived at the ER at 9pm and he was admitted immediately. Upon his admittance I was told I had to leave the hospital. Rules at the time were … no visitor’s and I was told I had to leave or wait outside. I was also told the hospital was inundated with COVID cases~ which I would later find out to be FALSE. This is when I realized we would be in the fight for my husband’s life.

Gary was admitted to the ICU and spent 2 nights there… 3 more nights spent before release on Sunday morning 8/22. During his time spent in Summit I never once spoke to a doctor and had to call for information myself. I put myself on a morning/evening regimen of calling and getting update’s and tried my hardest and best to advocate for his health. I put on my Armour of God! My first call was at midnight on the night of his admittance. The doctor on call said Gary had COVID pneumonia and a blood clot in his left calf. Upon admittance he was put on Remdesivir, low dose oxygen, steroid for lungs, medication for his heart as he was back in AFIB, and medication for the blood clot.

Before Gary’s admittance (at home), he was on HCQ and Azithromycin. He was using a nebulizer at home and taking Vitamin C (high dose), Vitamin D3, Zinc. All were prescribed by our NP. Ivermectin was also prescribed but I could not find a pharmacy that would fill the prescription for us.

On the morning of 8/18 I called the hospital and spoke to his nurse in charge, Diane. I asked her if we could work together with Gary’s NP to get him well. My hope was that we could work as a TEAM! I told her what medications and supplements he was on and asked if they could continue with Ivermectin, HCQ (Plaquenil), and IV Azithromycin immediately. I had done my research. Given that Gary had been sick for about 7 days prior to admittance I personally knew that he needed to be on an antibacterial for his lungs and not an antiviral!  Also, at this point, his (our) NP said the Remdesivir would hurt him more than help him. I asked Diane to take him off Remdesivir immediately. She said that this was not part of there protocol and that they would not follow my instructions. Fighting for my husband, I told her we are paying the bills and we would like to be cared for and I would like them to work WITH me~not against me. I felt hopeless fighting from home! Gary’s NP also called (on his behalf) and spoke to Diane and the ICU doctor in charge, Dr. Narasimha Saladi. She was treated terribly by the nurse (Diane) and kindly by the doctor, although he would not administer what we were asking, again saying they were standing by there protocol because it was “working” for many COVID patients. Dr. Saladi said our NP could forward her supporting documentation as to why she thought Gary should be on Ivermectin and IV Azithromycin and he would definitely read. Our NP forwarded supporting documentation and we never heard back from anyone.

On 8/19 I asked Megan, the nurse in charge, if I could come visit Gary now that he was out of the ICU. She said she would check to see if hospital protocol’s had changed. She called back and said that the hospital was full of COVID patients and I could not come to visit. I did some checking on my own with a nurse who my sister-in-law used to work with at Summit and she stated they hardly had any COVID patients currently staying in the hospital… “maybe a handful” was her comment. I felt betrayed over and over during Gary’s first stay. Summit Hospital failed us over and over.

*  Why can’t patient’s and family members advocate for their loved ones in the hospital?

*  Why can’t primary care NP’s help with the care of their hospitalized patient’s?

*  Why are we not being heard?

*  Why aren’t live-saving drugs being used ~ HCQ, Ivermectin, IV vitamin C etc…?

*  Why is Remdesivir being used at all? Research…research…research!

*  Why can’t other drugs be tried in the treatment of “COVID” when no harm would be done by trying?

*  Why is Remdesivir being used in the treatment of “COVID” or pneumonia when it causes organ failure and lungs to fill with fluid? Research…research…research!

*  Why was I not allowed to be in the hospital with my husband when I already just had COVID and antibodies were sky high?

*  Why was my husband never tested for bacterial infection?

*  SO MANY QUESTIONS WILL NEVER BE ANSWERED!

Gary was released on 8/22/21… but this would only be the beginning of our horror story.

I picked up Gary from the hospital on 8/22/21. It was an early, unexpected release! I was grateful don’t get me wrong… I had just prayed at church with our pastor and got a text from Gary on my way home. It was such a relief to know he had beat it swiftly and was coming home to heal. When I arrived to pick him up I was in shock. Gary could not walk on his own and had dropped significant weight in his short stay. I pushed him in a wheel chair to the car and somehow he and I managed to get in the car and home. God’s grace again I think!

Gary seemed to be getting better as the days went by. He was still coughing up a lot of mucus in the days and weeks to follow but I was assured this was part of the healing process of “COVID” pneumonia. Again, things were not sitting quite right with me in this entire process. Faith held me together and family kept me strong. I prayed with Gary and over Gary many times.

Eventually I knew things were not progressing as they should. My gut was unsettled and my intuition was beyond rattled. Gary was re-admitted to Summit Hospital on 9/29/2021. He was weak and could not walk and was admitted in a wheel chair once again. He was admitted directly to the ICU with BACTERIAL pneumonia (the very thing I had been fighting for them to prevent from happening) and kidney’s were failing. His paperwork later stated as follows; Kidney failure onset, Empyema Lungs, Sepsis, Anemia of chronic disease, Severe protein-calorie malnutrition. Both of his lungs were filled with fluid and the emergency doctor looked at us both in the eyes and said this was very serious and Gary was going to be in a battle for his life. This visit I was fortunately allowed to be with him and monitor his treatment. It was a 2 week battle in the hospital and many weeks after  at home. They installed 1 drain in his left lung and 2 in his right lung. He was not able to get out of bed to go to the bathroom or shower because of the drains and his strength. The ICU doctor showed me the MRI of Gary’s lungs and I fell to a chair in tears. I tried to explain our experience to this doctor… explained my request for IV anti-biotic when Gary was in the first time… explained my feelings on Remdesivir… explained my treatment from nurse’s and doctor’s, my distrust in the system. The doctor assured me they would take good care of him and that he would be fine but that it would be a long strenuous process. I fought for Gary every step of the way this time because I was at his bedside. I questioned everything and they probably didn’t like me very much!

I had to put my trust back in the system that previously failed him.

The day before he was released the ICU doctor visited and recommended a blood transfusion because Gary’s red blood cell count was low. Gary told him to come back and explain when I was present. As the doctor was explaining this to both of us I again began my questioning. I asked if this was pretty normal considering what Gary had been through and if he thought in time while gaining strength the red blood cell numbers would rise on their own. I questioned adding iron to his diet. I also stated that Gary would not receive a blood transfusion unless they could guarantee the blood was coming from an unvaccinated individual. The doctor looked at me like I was CRAZY. Doctor asked why and I explained that we are unvaxxed for personal reasons and religious beliefs. He then had the gall to ask what our religion was! I told him it really is none of your business…  Nothing was ever brought up from that morning on. I brought iron rich foods to Gary the next few days and his number’s continued to rise… MAGIC! So you are aware, when giving blood they do NOT ask people if they have had the COVID vaxx or booster. If you are adamant against the shot like we are, this is something you should know.

Slowly but surely Gary recovered. I brought him home-cooked meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He learned to walk again and gained strength. He remained in the hospital for 2 weeks and was released the day before our 27th Wedding Anniversary. Gary came home and needed help with everything… help to stand, help to eat, help to walk, help to FUNCTION! He had lost 40 pounds through it all!

I am grateful for the treatment that kept him alive… but still question to this day if it ever should have happened this way. I questioned a lot of things for a long long time. I even blamed myself for bringing sickness home. I questioned if Gary even had COVID – or did he just have pneumonia to begin with? Was he released too early the first visit? Questions… questions… questions.

Today we are so grateful he is alive. Today we don’t question anything. I talk to myself when things creep back in…”let it go” is my mantra.  He is one of the blessed ones that was admitted to the hospital… given Remdesivir… and survived. We do not take it for granted… not one bit! We wake up every single day and thank God for his miracles.

The system came after my family this year.

Now we disconnect from this system… one step at a time…