Thank you for letting me tell Todd’s story and my continuing battle to advocate for Todd and the brutal treatment he endured and that ultimately ended his life. This set of tragic events started April 2nd, 2021. My late husband, Todd was insistent we get vaccinated for Covid, he was so concerned about our family and he was making sure we could all be safe. My youngest son was a select baseball player and he wanted to make sure we could travel to all the games and be there to support. He spent multiple days and countless hours trying to get me and him a vaccination appointment, and he finally secured us times at a CVS pharmacy not far from our home.

I took my first shot, Moderna, on April 1, 2021. Within hours after the vaccine, I felt awful but was still able to function and was okay. I begged Todd not to go and to wait a few days to get his vaccine too make sure I was going to be okay- he was 9 years older than me. Todd insisted and went and got the vaccine. Within about 2 hours of him being home he was feeling bad, within 5hours he was lethargic and sleeping, and would not eat or drink. I did manage to get some Gatorade down him and he slept all night. The next day, he did get up but was still very tired, felt bad and just slept. I finally took him to the Urgent Care right by our house and the Doctor there told us that his oxygen level was very low and to get him to the ER ASAP. I took Todd to the ER at Methodist West Houston and walked him into the Emergency Room. At that time, only patients were allowed in.

They admitted Todd and he called me often and said they were admitting him. He was admitted to a Covid unit that was isolated specifically for Covid patients. I was not allowed to see him at all as they had banned any family or outside people from entering the hospital. They did give him Remdesivir and some other medications and Todd seemed to improve and we thought he was going to be released on that Monday April 5th- he said he felt fine and was ready to come home. The day went by and he had not been released and Todd called and said they were keeping him one day longer. Then within hours he started falling ill again and by Wednesday he needed additional care and support, The doctor on his case were refusing to allow him to go into the ICU because we refused to sign the intubation form, after we had been told if they intubated him his chances of survival were slim to none. There was a black female doctor on the team that was ready to intubate him that day, but Todd was still walking, talking eating and self-sufficient.

I begged Todd to move to another hospital and the doctor set up the transfer without my knowledge because he said we were being difficult and not cooperating and refusing treatment. Called Todd an awful, hateful patient. I was finally allowed access into the room on Wednesday night and stayed the night with him to make sure he got care. No one ever came in and he was ignored. Thank God I was there. Then on Thursday we were given an ultimatum- sign the forms too allow for intubation and Todd could go to ICU to get better treatment or the doctor would just let him die in the Covid unit with no care, which the Nurses nor the Doctor came in his room to support him or treat him. Even the nurses were horrified and begged me to sign the forms because Todd’s condition was worsening, and they told me the Doctor was refusing him treatment and they had to follow orders.

The nurses were doing treatment on the side to help Todd and do the best they could without angering the doctor. I caved and was desperate and I signed the form for intubation with the understanding that he was not too be intubated unless it was a last resort. We were finally admitted to ICU and the staff there was asking why he had not been admitted sooner- that he should not have been left in the Covid unit that he required more care and they were shocked. The nurse on staff knocked Todd out with some type of medication and immediately put him on a Bi-Pap machine so he could sleep. I stayed with him until 9 PM that night and then all visitors had to leave.

The next morning, I was back up at the hospital and Todd was still asleep- I finally got the nurse to wake him up to eat and drink- he was like a ping pong ball over the weeks he was in ICU- some days really good and some days bad. The whole time Todd kept complaining he had something stuck in his throat and I kept telling the nurses and the doctors and they said it was probably just the air and nothing to worry about. The whole time Todd was on the bi-pap machine they never suctioned the fluid he was trying to cough up out of his mouth or throat.  They quit feeding him and put him on liquid food and fluids. Then he just quit talking and was sleeping all the time- it finally got a point the doctors said he was not getting any air to his lungs, and they needed to intubate him. I authorized the procedure.

When the procedure was done- the Doctor told me they had a difficult time getting the tube into Todd’s airway that the fluid Todd had been trying to cough up from his lungs had solidified in his airway and was almost 100% blocked and they had never seen a case this bad or extreme. They had other cases but it was not to this level. It was the worst case any on the entire team had ever seen. At that point the damage to Todd’s lungs was done, he died a couple of times during the procedure and even if he survived his quality of life would be that of most likely a vegetable requiring care around the clock and his lung capacity was so damaged from getting almost no air into his lungs that they had turned fibrotic. The doctors pretty much stopped treatment and quit all care because they could do nothing more- they started end of life discussions. Even though I told them I would not give up- they did.

I was at the hospital everyday from morning until 9PM without fail. By his side. Then the call came in at around midnight to 1AM on May 8th that Todd had taken a turn for the worse and his oxygen levels were depleting, and the doctor had ordered no more care- Todd had a DNR. No doctor was even present when he died and the team told me the doctor has no intention of being at the hospital. I was there the whole time and I watched him die and I held him and I begged him to fight I begged the medical team and they just stood and watched, crying because they were given a directive. I think it was a mercy killing, I believe Todd was medically euthanized.  I lost him May 8th 2021. Todd was a fighter, and he fought hard for 30 plus days- the team not doing their job and ultimately allowing that fluid to dry in his lungs like cement to almost 100% closure was the end of his life. The misusage of the Bi-Pap machine and application is definitely a huge cause in his death.