Timeline for Christopher Martin

Aug. 12th: Chris was admitted via the emergency room at Concord Hospital in Concord NH. Was asked about vaccine status and chastised by ER doc for not having done his part to fight the virus. Was eventually put in a room on their Covid floor. Oxygenation levels at 40% and given an anti-viral Steroid and Tylenol. Had X-Ray of lungs while in ER.

Aug. 15th: Talked to staff about signing himself out, they asked him to stay. Moved to ICU… Was on Remdesivir and Dexamethasone, cat scan after coughing up blood. All nutritional efforts were stopped.

Aug. 17th: Started feeling a bit better, was up sitting in a chair. We asked to have RTs in there working on breathing exercises with Chris.

Aug. 20th: Took another turn for the worse. Was treated with high flow mask. We were fed-up with the lack of care and started talking about getting him out of there.

Aug. 21st: We had a meeting with the medical team (with me on speaker phone) to let them know Chris is not to be intubated. I also explained I would be removing him from their hospital, so he isn’t to be touched or to have any procedures. Chris asked me to call his lawyer. Oxygenation level at 2:13 was 93. Last text from Chris was at 3:47pm. By 4:57pm he was no longer responding to or reading my texts.

• At roughly 5:30 I was contacted by Concord Hospital to let me know they had intubated Chris. I explained I had texts proving Chris refused the ventilator. An hour after telling the doctor that, I was told Chris needed to be moved to another hospital for ECMO.
• Chris was transported to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH in the middle of the night between Aug. 21st & 22nd.
• I spoke with a physician at DHMC on the 22nd regarding ECMO as they needed my consent. I gave consent as I was told it was the only way to save his life.

Aug. 31st: I was allowed to start visiting my husband at DHMC as they felt he was now outside the 20 day window and could take the Covid precautions off.

Sept. 3rd: I submitted first written request for medical records. Making it known I want to get a 2nd opinion from a physician that was not a colleague or staff at DHMC.

Sept. 5th: I requested Care Conference with medical team to include patient advocate.

Sept. 6th: First meeting with medical team. But was only attended by charge nurse Matt Guy, duty nurse and two people from palliative care. No physicians. I gave them 2 days to try again with appropriate people in attendance. We did discuss process for designated blood donations for Chris. But was given no guidance on how to accomplish that.

Sept. 8th: Second meeting, Dr James Carroll and others, including ECMO physician, nurses and palliative care. We discussed wanting high dose Vitamins via IV and swapping out the anti-inflammatory for another options considering it wasn’t working. And adding Vitamin C to IV as it aids in reducing inflammation. They agreed to Vitamins C, D and B1 but did not provide Zinc as requested.

Sept. 15th: Had meeting with new Attending Dr. Laura Paulin and team. Again, discussed Vitamins, why zinc hasn’t been given. Discussed never again using certain meds and asked again about doing designated blood donations. Still haven’t been given a clear answer on any of it.

Sept. 17th: I had been given the run around and made to call multiple departments to obtain the records I requested on the 3rd. They tried to tell me it was still in process. I explained I will not be patient for even one more day. I was intending on staying on the phone with them until I was granted access to those records. I did get access to the online medical portal by the end of the day. I then sent them off to doctors willing to look them over.

Sept.19th: Just before noon I spoke with Dr. Laura Paulin at Chris’s bedside when she came in to update me. I explained very clearly that I now know I am Chris’ medical proxy while he’s incapacitated. I now know we have the “right to try act” in NH and I have the right to demand these treatments be given a chance as it’s clear the current treatment hasn’t made any significant improvements. I let them know I wanted a meeting the next day so we can go over the changes that need to be made. I also told her right there that Midazolam is to be removed as soon as safely possible. And again, repeated that Chris is not to have Remdesivir or Vancomycin ever again. And once the Midazolam is removed, he’s never to receive that again.

• Just before 8pm I was asked to meet with staff in the lobby outside the ICU to talk. Once there, I was met with security and police as well as medical staff and was told I had been disruptive during the conversation with Dr. Paulin 8 hours earlier and was accused of having called people murderers. I made my case that none of that is true. I was given a letter stating I was banned for 72 hours at least. When that time was up it would be reviewed and I’d be told later if I would be allowed to return.

• Just after I left. Chris’ son Brandon arrived at the hospital to join some folks for a prayer vigil. Security was aware this was going to take place and approached Brandon outside in the parking lot letting him know it was private property and they would not be allowed to have the vigil there and was told to leave or they’d be arrested for trespassing.

Sept. 22nd: I called DHMC to get an update regarding my ban. I was informed it had been extended for at least another week as I call too often and they said something about me threatening someone. Again, complete fiction. When I asked who I threatened and what I said, they couldn’t answer me and Richard Mellow, the security manager told me he’s just the messenger.

They mentioned, both on this call as well as on the 19th, the amount of media attention this story is getting. I do believe they’re being spiteful as a result of that attention. But as I explained to Mr. Mellow, I tried the quiet approach to get the hospital to cooperate with me. They just ignored me. What other choice to I have other than just allowing them to infringe on our rights at my husband’s peril?

I was allowed back in for one hour a day under constant watch from a guard and had to be searched upon entering the facility. This went on until Chris died 10/7/21