PART 1 - WOMAN FEELS THAT CALLING PARAMEDICS FOR HER DAD WAS THE WORST MISTAKE OF HER LIFE

When She Visited Her Dad in the Hospital, She Described His Room as Filthy and Disgusting

My dad started showing signs of a cold. He was stuffy, tired, and coughing.  He was eating fine, with no temperature, and moving around like normal. It wasn’t until we tested his pulse oxygen that we were concerned. It was in the low 90’s. He has sleep apnea, and for all I know, that could have been low normal for him. If I knew what I know now, I would not have called an ambulance. It went down to 89 and his doctor said to call the paramedics. My dad kept saying he felt fine and didn’t want to go. I wish I had listened. They took him to St. Joseph’s Emory Hospital in Sandy Springs, GA. After hearing nothing from anyone for 24 hours and 15 plus phone calls from our family, we finally got to speak to a nurse. He was admitted on the Covid floor and tested positive. They said his lungs were the best on the floor. I was encouraged by his chest X-ray. At that point, I was thinking he needed some oxygen and would be home soon. He was put on 6 liters of oxygen. He was being weaned off every day.

No Remdesivir

There was little to no communication other than us calling constantly and being asked not to call so much. I finally after two-plus days got to speak to a doctor and he told me that my dad had severe Covid and possible pneumonia. He said they would start treating him with Remdesivir and other treatments. No antibiotics and no vitamins even though we had requested it. I told the doctor that he was on Quercetin, Zinc, Vitamins D3 and C and to please continue. He said that is not the protocol and those do nothing. I requested Ivermectin and the doctor said, “Absolutely not. It is an experimental drug.” I said to him that we DO NOT want him getting Remdesivir under any circumstances, that I felt that was an experimental drug and causes kidney failure. The doctor said that I was going to make my dad worse by not allowing the treatment. I tried to sneak Ivermectin into his room by dropping off a bag for him. He was too nervous to take it and I felt so bad for him. His trajectory was a few more days in the hospital and he would be home so I figured we could give it to him at home. Keep in mind that we had to call multiple times an hour to get any update. The nurse would get annoyed and ask that only one family member call. That day I was surprised when the doctor called. He said that my dad was requesting Remdesivir and that my dad is his patient, not me, and he will listen to him. When I talked to my dad, he was very scared. The doctor told him that I was holding back his treatment and he could get a lot worse if he didn’t get Remdesivir. At that point, there was nothing I could do. I would be responsible, God forbid, if anything were to happen. So, he started Remdesivir. His lungs looked good and he weaned down to 2 liters of oxygen. They projected he would come home on Friday.

Discharged

I was surprised on Thursday to get a call from my dad saying he was being discharged that day. I got a call from him telling me to come get him at 5:00 p.m. I got there and had to wait outside because of Covid restrictions. So, I sat in the car for two hours. At the same time, my dad was calling me telling me that he was sitting there with no one since 11:00 a.m. and no one would answer him. I kept calling the hospital and no one had time to talk. He was wheeled out at around 6:45 p.m. He had no oxygen and I asked the technician why. The technician said, “I know nothing, I’m just a technician.” I asked for discharge instructions. The technician had no clue. My dad had no clue. I was handed a box and told by the technician that he was unsure what it was. My dad said he hadn’t had oxygen since 11:00 a.m. when they took it out. He was coughing something terrible. I got him home and tried to understand what to give him. We immediately called the hospital. They had to call us back. I figured out the box was oxygen. After looking for a nose cannula, I finally found one and a discharge sheet saying he was discharged on 2 liters. I tried to figure out this box of oxygen and did. After an hour it would get very hot and the plastic holder would pop off the side. We would constantly go in and see he had no oxygen. His pulse ox dropped to the low 90’s every time it came out. My dad has sleep apnea so he needed a mask while sleeping. I called the hospital and demanded to speak to someone. Finally, they said to call the company that gave the oxygen. They said my dad was given discharge instructions. I explained that he didn’t remember and we asked to be called at that time. I asked about his cough and was told he was given a prescription for cough syrup with Codeine. No antibiotics. I asked for them again and was told it’s viral, it will do nothing.

Calling the Paramedics

Fast forward a few days of my dad hacking up a lung and now spiking a fever. I got him a mask and he needed 3 liters of oxygen to keep him in the 90s. Every time he would sleep, his mask would go off and his pulse oximeter would drop. I did not know what to do. He then fell in the shower when trying to go to the bathroom. At that point, I called the paramedics. That was the worst mistake of my life. They took him back to the hospital and his pulse oximeter was in the high 70’s without a mask. His cough was so bad that the oxygen would fall off. I had called the company to get a new machine and was told it would take days. We still had the old machine. The new one came at the same time the ambulance was there. I will never forget my dad being mad at me for calling the ambulance. The paramedics wheeled him out and the sun hit his face for the last time. I felt my stomach drop as they drove away.

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