This letter was dated April 13—The treatment in isolation sounds grim.
“First of all, thank you for praying, texting and checking in with us. We appreciate your thoughtfulness and concern.
I am now on day 15 of fighting the Covid19 virus. My symptoms started off as a fever and slowly went down hill from there. I have experienced all of the various symptoms you have heard described. On days 11 and 12 I could tell my breathing was becoming an issue and I could hear “crackling” in my lungs. After talking to my GP, he recommended I go to the ER. I waited a day and when things continued to spiral down, I went into the ER.
Testing positive. I had a chest CT and it showed pneumonia. I then had the nose swab test and it too came back positive. So I was kept in the hospital for monitoring.
I appreciate the work the nurses and Doctors are attempting to do during this pandemic. However, there is no treatment, medicine or consistent information for the virus. It is only a triage situation where if you need a ventilator, they take you to the ICU and if you don’t, they just monitor you.
The nurses and techs don’t come in very often. There are a number of reasons for that. Exposure to the virus is primary. Second, it take s a long time to get prepped to come in the room. They have to put on two pairs of gloves, two gowns (one plastic), two face masks, a pair of goggles, and a face shield helmet. You get your own stethoscope and thermometer that has to stay in the room. When they leave, there is a specific way they have to take off the outer layer of plastic gown, fold it up, pull off the second pair of gloves and wrap it around the gown, throw them away in the room, then wash their still-gloved hands and exit the room.
This means they try to “bundle” their services and combine things like bringing food and checking your vitals into one visit. Otherwise, they throw things to you through the door or put them on the floor for you to go pick up (tricky when you are connected to 8 wires and an IV), and talk to you on the phone or through FaceTime. I never saw a doctor in person. They only called and looked at me through a window. I never saw the face of any nurse, tech or doctor.
Other than one puff of Albuterol when I arrived, I had a total of 4 Tylenol pills. I also had an IV drip with Saline and was monitored for Oxygen, heart rate and blood pressure. My oxygen levels remained low, but acceptable. After two days in the ER, I was discharged to come back home.
I am now home. I don’t feel any better or worse. I am thankful I didn’t need a ventilator. I could hear the lady in the room next to me cough endlessly for hours. She was eventually moved to ICU. It was a good reminder to be thankful that I was stable and not getting any worse. The nurse told me she was close to my age.
I am now quarantined for another 14 days. I had already been quarantined for 21 days due to the fact that my son, Preston tested positive on March 23. My daughter and Wife also have had it, but all three recovered relatively quickly and without need for any hospitalization. I held out the longest and got it the worst.
I now have to report my temperature, heart rate and oxygen levels every day to the hospital and to the health department. When Preston tested positive, he was close to the first case in Jessamine county. I was about #50. Amy and Caitlyn were never tested. We were all trying to avoid taking a test or medical treatment from others who needed it worse.
Next?
The doctors say I should recover from the pneumonia over time at home. If my oxygen levels drop below 90%, they will have me come back in. So I wait and monitor. My fever still comes and goes, but not as much as before. I am trusting for healing over this week. I do have my GP on speed dial in case I do need to try the “experimental” treatment of a combination of anti-malaria and antibiotic meds.
Once again, thanks for your texts, thoughts and prayers. I wish I could report a sudden miraculous return to health, but I believe it is coming in time.
Chad
p.s. Feel free to forward this on to anyone that has been asking or praying for me. I can’t begin to imagine how many people that is, thanks to you.
Chad Crouch
President
Cre8tive Group
304 E. Main Street
Wilmore, KY 40390
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