Mike woke up with a headache on Aug. 29th, and because several people at his work had tested positive they said he needed to get tested. That resulted in a positive test and he was sent home with no medication. He felt really tired and achy for several days. On the second he was short of breath and I was finally able to check his O2 and it was 85. I tried to get him to go to hospital that night, but he refused. The next morning he was struggling to breathe and agreed to go to Tennova ER.

Upon arrival I was told I could push him into the ER but was not allowed to stay. They immediately put him on oxygen and prepared to admit him. Every day after he was admitted they increased his oxygen. Then went to high flow mask around day four. It was at this time he stopped eating and drinking do to the fact he wasn’t to take the mask off. The only communication we had was by text because he couldn’t hear on the phone do to the high flow mask. I asked a nurse about him not eating and was told they were afraid he would aspirate. Looking through his medical records it shows no chance of aspiration.

He wanted so badly to come home or be transferred out of there and even texted me that they was gonna kill him. I had a hard time even reaching a nurse to get updates on him and when I did they was very brief. I only spoke to a doctor twice in 17 days. At the time, I truly believed they was doing their best to take care of him and for that I will forever feel guilty.

From the day he was admitted, the records say he was dehydrated, but yet he was on Lasix and only had continuous IV fluids 6 out of 17 days. He also had a high D-dimer from day one which indicates a blood clot, but didn’t say anything about one until the 15th when they told him they was going to do a CT to check for blood clot in his lung. This never happened as they told us they couldn’t do it until he was back on the nasal cannula. On the morning of the 17th he said he had slept really well and was going to sleep some more. He told me his O2 was 94. At 12:22 I got a message from him saying “intubate.” I was so confused and couldn’t get answer from anyone. I asked him if he was feeling worse and he said no.

At 3:12 he messaged and said the doctor was calling me. The doctor said his O2 was dropping and the only option was to put him on vent. I told him that Mike did not want to go on vent and he said it didn’t matter what I said he had already consented to it. His records show he was opposed to being put on vent, but after lengthy discussion he agreed. It also says they couldn’t get complete consent so he didn’t sign anything. I was able to call and the nurse held the phone to his ear. I told him how much I loved him and to keep fighting. By this time he was in distress. I don’t know if it was lack of oxygen, fear or the medication but I was unable to understand anything he was saying.

He went down hill from the moment he was ventilated. I believe putting him on vent caused him to throw a clot. Even after he was put on the vent I had trouble getting any information. On the morning of the 18th I finally got a return call from a nurse and she said he had a really rough night and that she didn’t think he would make it. I was able to get ahold of another nurse early Sunday and she said he was stable, but was having some atrial fib.

They finally said we could come up Sunday morning and see him, but we could only look through the doors. I didn’t care I just wanted to see him, we had been kept apart for 17 days. My son and I were there as soon as visiting hours started 10am. At first they only let me up. When I got on the floor the nurse informed me his kidneys were shutting down. He was also still in atrial fib and his blood pressure kept dropping. I requested they let my son come up and they did. At this time the doctor came and talked to us. He informed us that he was not going to make it, that his kidneys were shutting down and he thought dialysis would only prolong his death.

At this point I made the decision to only do comfort measures because I knew that is what he would have wanted. They said they would “allow” us to go in and hold his hand, but we had to have gown, gloves and mask. By this time it was around 10:50, we finally got in the room. I grabbed his hand and told him we were there and how much I loved him, and he passed at 11:09. The things I have read in his medical records make me so mad. It literally says on the day he died ” patient in critical condition due to Covid crisis, lack of resources, and lack of staff.” If they didn’t have the staff or resources to take care of him why couldn’t I or family stay with him? Why didn’t they transfer him? Another thing is he never signed one piece of paper in 17 days, not his patient rights or consent to anything. A doctor signed for him. If he was unable why wasn’t I notified? The only consent they got from me was to put a port in after he was intubated. I pray one day everyone will know what we know.