On Nov. 8 we both tested positive. She had a little cough that would not go away. Her breathing got worse, and it was turning into pneumonia. We ended up taking her to the hospital where they admitted her on 11/18. They asked her if she were vaxed and she said no, and they berated her. She said she is not going to take the vaccine, she is not going to be intubated, and they could not believe why she would say that. She said I have seen people on the news, once they get intubated, they die so I will not do that. I refused so they had her sign a DNR so that she would not be intubated. They called me and asked me to change her mind.

I asked, “does she need it?” “they said no. I said leave her alone then. They admitted her and a week later I ended up going in because I could not breathe. Everything they did for me was opposite of what they did for her. I could take a shower or go to the bathroom. I could get out of bed, I could exercise, I could lay on my stomach, and I could breathe into a tube for breathing exercises. When I talked to her on the phone and told her what they were doing for me, she told me they would not do that for her. They would not give me her room number so I could not even call her on the hospital phone, we had to keep calling on our phones.

I finally got to see my doctor and asked him why she is not being treated like I was. He said, “well protocol says he cannot tell me” even though I am her husband. She would keep calling me asking me to get a hold of a nurse because they will not answer her pages for water, food, or anything she needed. They gave me Remdesivir only with the insistence that I get blood thinners with the shot. The doctor agreed and I asked him why my wife was not getting anything like Remdesivir? He told me he cannot tell me but has something to do with her lupus or something like that. I said can you find out for me, and he said no, protocol says that is a personal problem.

I was released a week later. She was still in there and her oxygen was turned up to the maximum setting. She still had not had a shower or gotten out of bed or anything like a decent person. A week after, they told me that she could go home; Covid was over, and they wheeled her out to my car. She could not walk, and the nurses said it was because she has not walked for the last 2 1/2 weeks. Her legs were like noodles. I asked them to help me put her in the car and they said no we cannot touch her!

I said she does not have Covid, and they said we know, she does not have Covid, but the protocol says we cannot touch her. I asked how I am supposed to lift her up and put her in my car and they said that is not their problem. They told me I needed to hurry because they needed the wheelchair back in the hospital otherwise, they are going to wheel her back into her room. I half lifted and half dragged her into the front of the car. I dragged her up my front porch steps and onto the couch in the living room.

Her pneumonia continued to get worse- me and Janet’s sister kept trying to get Janet to walk a little bit. We would massage her legs trying to exercise her. I gave her my breathing tool so that she could start breathing and forcing air into her lungs. Finally, her breathing got so bad her lungs are filling with water or fluid so bad, that she could not even breathe without water coming up out of her lungs. The visiting nurses kept saying go to Walgreens and get some Robitussin or some kind of cough medicine. I said you need to fix her, you had her for two weeks in the hospital, did you treat the pneumonia? And they said no, their job was to treat Covid and nothing else…

On Christmas day I called 911- the fire department showed up. I said you need to take her back to the hospital because she cannot breathe, and she cannot walk. They told me they could not come in the house and get her because of the Covid protocol. I said then I have to drag her from the bedroom down the hallway out onto the porch and they said yes. That is what I did, I dragged her on the floor out to the front porch, dropped her in the yard. they picked her up from there and put her in the ambulance.

The hospital called up couple hours later said they are giving her antibiotics for her pneumonia, and it is starting to go away. She is starting to breathe easier, and she should be home in three days. Finally, some good news. Later that day they said she was doing great, two hours later they wanted to know if I could tell her to rescind the DNR so that they could intubate her. I asked does she need to be intubated? And they said no… I said then why are you even asking me that question. They said we are asking just in case. I told them, no we do not want that. An hour later they called and said they found a doctor that convinced her to rescind the DNR and be intubation if needed.

I said if she signed the paper then that is OK with me. They said do not worry she does not need it she is still going home in a couple of days. However, 20 minutes later they called and told me I must get to the hospital she is not looking good. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law went to the hospital and went up to ICU. They gowned us all up and they told me before I go in, I should be aware that she was already dead. I said you just called me 15 minutes ago and said she is not doing good, and she is already dead? When did she die? They said yes, there has been a mix-up we are not sure! I said then why am I wearing all this protective gear?

Are you scared that I would catch Covid from her? The doctor and nurse looked at each other and they did not have an answer. I asked can a dead person pass Covid, and they did not know. I said are you worried I am going to give a dead person Covid, and again they did not know. I asked them what do you know after all these years of all these dead bodies. Do you know anything about what Covid does to a dead body or whether they can pass this back-and-forth? The doctor said I am agitated, and they are not going to let me go in to see her. I said I would call 911 right now because I am going in. The nurse made me promise that if I go in that I will not throw any of the equipment through the window into the hallway.

I said what are you talking about, are people throwing equipment through the window into the hallway whenever they come up here? The doctor said no, and the nurse said yes. My wife looked like a gutted animal with that tube coming out of her throat- eyes open she look like terrible! They did absolutely nothing to give her any kind of dignity. I made my peace with her and with God and I walked out. My sister-in-law was waiting to see her. My sister-in-law asked the doctor where is the DNR that my sister signed so that she would be intubated? And the doctor said she did not sign anything. Now for the first time her siblings realize that these people are killing people!

They thought we were making up all these stories of all these people dying in hospitals over the last two years and now they are seeing how they are treating her own sister and then finally saw the light. The sister went in, and the doctor turned to me and told me that I need to get rid of the body, they needed the room. I asked am I supposed to take her home or what am I supposed to do? The doctor did not have an answer! They said the hospital morgue could not take her because she had covid. I got my sister-in-law back out there and she said she would call a mortuary. I wondered why the doctor and nurse could not have answered that question? Is this their first day here? And they never dealt with a dead body before? They never dealt with a grieving spouse before? Do they not know where dead bodies go? Do they not have a morgue here? Why am I having to ask you and then I like handing me a list of mortuaries are places to call or things to do?

They said they had a little confusion with the time of death.

The mortuary called and they helped us. They were polite, they were kind and they told us the timetable for everything. I did not request an autopsy or her records, because I cannot keep reliving this and I do not want this to go on for years. I have given this to the Lord, he is going to deal with those people. He is going to help your group find out who is responsible for all this. I cannot do it for my own sanity. I love and respect you all for what you were doing! I will do whatever I can to help you.

Stephen Dettle