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My brother is hospitalized with Covid

Tenaj

By Tenaj,
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Tenaj

Tenaj

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Received word yesterday that my younger brother (53) has been hospitalized with Covid.  He and his wife are unvaccinated.  His wife and adult son who still lives at home were the first to get sick early last week.  I found out that my brother visited my elderly parents on Wednesday knowing that two people in his house had Covid!  I'm trying not to be furious.  And my mom's explanation when I expressed horror was, "oh, he doesn't have Covid, just a bad cold".  

His adult daughter who lives at home also has Covid but is fully vaccinated (she works at the hospital) and has a mild case.

I'm waiting for an update this morning.  When they headed to the ER his oxygen stats were at 84.  

At least my mom and dad were boostered about two weeks ago.  Hopefully that was enough to protect them from the exposure.  

I'm so full of mixed feelings.  .

 

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Tenaj
Tenaj

Received word yesterday that my younger brother (53) has been hospitalized with Covid.  He and his wife are unvaccinated.  His wife and adult son who still lives at home were the first to get sick ear

Tenaj
Tenaj

I thought I should add an update to this topic.  My brother is still out of breath and has to sit to recover when doing anything like walking. My mom ended up passing away a week ago today.  As m

Tenaj
Tenaj

And to add to the saga:. My mom fell last night.  Fractured her C2 vertebrae, fractured her nose, stitches on her face.  My dad wasn't home at the time so she was down for two hours before he found he

kbutton

kbutton

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I am so sorry, and mixed feelings are utterly appropriate right now!

I would try to have a conversation with your parents about monoclonal antibodies. You have to get them before you require oxygen. Needing oxygen makes you ineligible. You want their path to antibodies to be smooth and uncomplicated should the need arise.

What a mess! I am glad they were boostered recently!

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Pam in CT

Pam in CT

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I'm so sorry. I hope they all recover. I'm glad your parents were recently boosted.

It's totally understandable and OK to have mixed feelings.

Echoing @kbutton  re discussing monoclonal antibody protocols with your parents. If they experience even a teeny tiny hint of something that might be a symptom, they should test ASAP. If testing is difficult to obtain or results are slow in returning in their area, they should discuss with their doctor strategies including showing up at the ER with their teeny-tiny symptoms along with their known exposure to a family now known to be infected.

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Tenaj

Tenaj

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30 minutes ago, kbutton said:

I am so sorry, and mixed feelings are utterly appropriate right now!

I would try to have a conversation with your parents about monoclonal antibodies. You have to get them before you require oxygen. Needing oxygen makes you ineligible. You want their path to antibodies to be smooth and uncomplicated should the need arise.

What a mess! I am glad they were boostered recently!

My mom's Dr. Is on top of this and has told mom repeatedly that they should contact her immediately if they have any symptoms.  

My mom just let me know that they had to increase my brother's oxygen from 2 to 6.  I not sure what that means exactly but know it's not good.

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kbutton

kbutton

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11 minutes ago, Tenaj said:

My mom's Dr. Is on top of this and has told mom repeatedly that they should contact her immediately if they have any symptoms.  

My mom just let me know that they had to increase my brother's oxygen from 2 to 6.  I not sure what that means exactly but know it's not good.

I am glad your mom's doctor has this in hand! That's great!

Things can go either way with this, but it's not good news. Hopefully they are watching for pulmonary embolism too (common complication).

It's so, so hard to watch and not know what to feel except for rage that it doesn't have to be this way and that people we love are forcing us to watch it happen. There just isn't a nice way to put it. 

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Tenaj

Tenaj

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Another update:  Yesterday they tested him for going home with oxygen so they left him sitting in a chair in just the hospital gown with oxygen but his call button was nowhere near him and they left him there for two hours with no one coming back in the room.  My sister-in-law finally called the nurses desk to alert them but by that time he was chilled and having a hard time breathing again which set him back (that was yesterday morning).  They tried again this morning but every time they get him  up and moving his oxygen levels drop too far so they are making him stay put until at least Monday.  

Thanks for all who are praying.  

This has also caused a rift in the family because of a very vocal aunt who basically called him stupid (on facebook) for not getting the vaccine.  She deleted it eventually but everyone saw it.  Maybe she's right and I'm wrong, but I tend to think that out of courtesy I don't need to say publicly  every thought that goes through my head.  Both my aunt and my sister-in-law are trying to draw people into sides over it  and even though I agree with the aunt, I don't agree with the timing and public nature of it.  Grrrr . . . . its just one more thing that's happening because of stupid Covid . . .there I will happily call the virus all kinds of names!

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Pam in CT

Pam in CT

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(( Tenaj ))

 

It is not necessary to express every fleeting thought that scampers across our minds.  Some thoughts better deserve expression, than others.

When someone is hospitalized = an excellent time to exercise restraint.

I'm sorry for all that your family is enduring, and hoping your brother stabilizes enough to return home soon.

 

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kbutton

kbutton

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17 hours ago, Tenaj said:

 Both my aunt and my sister-in-law are trying to draw people into sides over it  and even though I agree with the aunt, I don't agree with the timing and public nature of it.  

I have very strong feelings about vaccines and about people who make us watch them sicken and sometimes die, but I can't imagine using it as a wedge in the family, especially while someone is sick. 

I hope he improves. I am glad they are keeping him a little longer--it seemed kind of soon to have him go home.

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Spryte

Spryte

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I’m so sorry he’s still unwell, but glad he is staying where they can best care for his needs.

I, too, am strongly pro-vaccine but when someone is ill — it’s not the time to call them out on being unvaccinated.

I hope he improves quickly, and that things in your family settle down soon.

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Tenaj

Tenaj

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And to add to the saga:. My mom fell last night.  Fractured her C2 vertebrae, fractured her nose, stitches on her face.  My dad wasn't home at the time so she was down for two hours before he found her.  Her cell phone was being charged and she couldn't reach it.  So she and my brother are now in the same hospital!  

She's in a neck brace for at least 12 weeks but because of her mobility issues we are hoping they send her to a rehab/ nursing home instead of back home.  My dad turns 88 next week - I don't think he can handle this by himself.  We shall see.

No word on my brother because my sil is refusing to answer any questions about his condition. 🙁

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KSera

KSera

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Oh no! I'm so sorry about your mom. That sounds awful and what difficult timing. I hope they get her into a good placement where she is well cared for and that she heals up quickly.

I've been considering some kind of fall alert thing for my mom, and your post reminds me I should get on that.

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JennyD

JennyD

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52 minutes ago, Tenaj said:

And to add to the saga:. My mom fell last night.  Fractured her C2 vertebrae, fractured her nose, stitches on her face.  My dad wasn't home at the time so she was down for two hours before he found her.  Her cell phone was being charged and she couldn't reach it.  So she and my brother are now in the same hospital!  

She's in a neck brace for at least 12 weeks but because of her mobility issues we are hoping they send her to a rehab/ nursing home instead of back home.  My dad turns 88 next week - I don't think he can handle this by himself.  We shall see.

No word on my brother because my sil is refusing to answer any questions about his condition. 🙁

Oh good heavens, OP, what a nightmare of a week your family is having.  I hope that your mom and your brother both make full recoveries very soon.

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Tenaj

Tenaj

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2 hours ago, Catwoman said:

I’m so sorry to hear about your mom!!! 😞 

And what’s up with your SIL? Is she a Covid denier or something? I think it’s awful that she isn’t forthcoming with information about your brother's condition! 

I think she is so mad at our  aunt that she just isn't responding to anyone at the moment.  I directly texted my brother a few minutes ago.  He says he is doing ok, just needs to get his lungs to behave so he can get out of there.  He said, "I'm two floors below mom.  We're taking over the place - lol!". I was glad he had the energy to type and the energy to have some humor about the situation 🙂

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Tenaj

Tenaj

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So, my brother is still in the hospital!  Eight days so far.  He cannot keep his oxygen levels at an acceptable level for discharge even with oxygen going home with him.  

Mom still hospitalized also.  She can't swallow for some reason so there is talk of a feeding tube 🙁. 

Funny story:. My mom managed to drink about a fourth of a cup of tomato soup through a straw last night and my brother (the one in the same hospital) called during that time.  He was jealous because he had been requesting tomato soup all last week and the hospital was out of it.  He finally gave up and then finds my mom drinking tomato soup.  He is almost directly below her room, two floors away.  He thought maybe she could pour her leftovers out the window and he could catch them. 🤣. At least he still has his sense of humor!

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