PATIENT NOT GIVEN ANTIBIOTICS FOR PNEUMONIA BUT INSTEAD VENTILATED AND GIVEN CONTINUOUS INFUSIONS OF FENTANYL, PROPOFOL, SEDATIVES, MUSCLE RELAXANTS, AND PARALYTICS

Doctor Tells Family Member to Forget About All of the Information She Researched Regarding Effective Medications for Her Father

My Dad was killed on January 21, 2022, when his “trusted” doctors following a hospital Covid protocol denied his rights to try safe and effective treatments, which are being suppressed. My family advocated for medications that greatly improved symptoms for my husband, friends, and acquaintances, within a 24-hour period. These low-cost, FDA-approved medications are doctor prescribed in other states and countries and have been used safely for decades. During the 12 days dad was in UPMC Passavant, he was isolated, denied antibiotics, ventilated against his will, and heavily sedated. My dad lived in Pennsylvania, a “Right to Try” state but for him it was a “Rights Denied” state.

On Monday morning, January 10, dad visited the UPMC Passavant Emergency Room (ER). His symptoms started New Year’s Day. He had a negative home Covid test earlier in the week but this morning he was unsteady on his feet and needed to seek medical care. In the ER, he was tested for Covid, flu and pneumonia, administered IV fluids, and given a breathing treatment. Upon learning he was not vaccinated, the ER doctor informed my dad that, “this is what happens when you don’t get vaccinated.” Dad’s vaccine status was irrelevant at that time considering medical professionals recommend against vaccinating someone who is ill. When mom shared that dad had a negative home test, the same doctor informed them, “the home tests are garbage.” After being told he was Covid positive, they admitted him to “monitor his breathing.” Dad’s pulmonologist of five years was a member of his care team. They were told that dad had an infection and they would treat it. They felt confident that dad was in good hands and would be home in a day or two.

The next day, a non-emergent move to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was made to “monitor his oxygen levels more closely.” Aside from having visitors for an hour a day, dad was isolated, hearing and vision impaired, placed on a clear-liquid diet, and left without an advocate to ensure he could make informed decisions. When mom visited him, he asked to go home. In reviewing dad’s records, his pneumonia was left untreated and he was monitored off of antibiotics. His ER radiology report noted concern for pneumonia. In the reports from the following days, they noted his pneumonia was getting progressively worse. Our family was told that dad’s infection was being treated but he received no antibiotics until January 18, after nine days under their care.

On the morning of January 13, mom was informed that dad was ventilated. During the early morning hours, he was agitated with the mask, complaining about the heated high flow, tried removing the Bi-Pap, and they needed to “rest his lungs.” In dad’s records, a nurse noted, “patient unaware of the risks to be intubated.” In talking with dad’s nurse, I learned that dad was receiving all of his regular medications, as well as Dexamethasone, and continuous infusions of Fentanyl, Propofol, sedatives, muscle relaxants, and paralytics.

I asked about Ivermectin for dad and was told that “there are no FDA-approved Covid treatments.” I shared my husband’s Covid pneumonia recovery story. In the end of July/early August 2021, my family had Covid. Our youngest had no symptoms, my older kids and I were sick 3-5 days, my husband was the first one with symptoms and on day 10 ended up in the Alabama ER. My husband was sent home with Ivermectin, Azithromycin, Dexamethasone, a cough expectorant, and Zofran, all doctor-prescribed. His symptoms were improved within a 24-hour period and he felt relief within three hours of taking his first dose. Dad’s nurse would pass this information on to his doctors.

On Friday, January 14, I met members of dad’s care team and received a copy of the hospital Covid protocol. I was disappointed to see they would not prescribe high-dose IV vitamins, Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine, N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), or other low-cost medications that have been effective. Dad’s doctor was on the defensive when he joined us in the waiting area and informed us that, “I cannot and will not prescribe Ivermectin for your dad.” Mom asked me to share my husband’s Covid recovery story and I pressed him for a medical reason why he couldn’t prescribe this medication. He did not give us one. Instead, we were told, “It’s not the hospital Covid protocol,” they “would lose their license if they prescribed anything not on the protocol,” and they “won’t prescribe anything that could be potentially harmful to a patient.” Is there a prescription drug that could be more harmful than death? How is an inexpensive drug that has been used safely for decades, is a 2x Nobel prize winner, and is on the World Health Organization’s essential medicine list now harmful to Covid patients? They’re not even prescribing vitamins and according to dad’s doctor, “vitamins don’t work.” My functional medicine doctor would disagree and we advocate for Vitamins C, D and Zinc.

We inquired about Hydroxychloroquine, an inexpensive drug that has been used by the military and repurposed for patients to treat chronic illnesses for decades. Dad’s doctor informed me that “with every question you ask me and the nurses, you are taking care away from your dad and the other ICU patients,” and told us to “forget about all the information you researched and spend time with your dad.” We were told that, surprisingly, “Gary is handling the vent well because we usually see a steady decline within the first 12 hours.” He also shared that he believed dad “has a 25% chance of walking out of the hospital.” If his chances of leaving are so low, why are they not trying everything possible to save his life? He tells us, “if you want Gary to have any medications not on the protocol, we should “file for a court order and hire a nurse to administer the drugs.” He also encouraged us to “think about what Gary would want” and he told us that “as an ICU doctor, I would never choose to be vented.”

Doctors have prescribed FDA-approved medications, off label, for decades and they are refusing to prescribe the medications that worked for my husband. We were concerned that our advocacy efforts could impact dad’s quality of care but over the next seven days, we pushed for effective treatments but it feels as if they are just waiting for him to die. On day 8, we’re told that dad’s Covid pneumonia has cleared and he’s dealing with inflammation. We asked his doctor about using Ivermectin again and he informed us, “I already put my neck on the line to prescribe vitamins.” Dad’s inalienable rights to try FDA-approved medications continued to be denied and we were told, “it’s not the hospital Covid protocol.” 

On January 20, dad’s doctor informed us that he had three hospital-acquired infections, one of which was sepsis. My mom asked about dialysis for dad but “he doesn’t qualify because his kidneys are functioning.” We were told that we “need to consider comfort care and think about what Gary would want.” His doctor encouraged us to take dad off the vent and let him go. The rules no longer applied and we had unlimited time with dad.

On January 21, comfort measures and flipping from prone to supine were the goals on dad’s white board. His doctor asked for a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR). He explained that dad’s infections had caused damage beyond repair and performing CPR would only cause more. At 8:28 PM, my dad’s heart stopped. Shortly after, his doctor came in the room and he didn’t talk to or even look at me! Is it possible that he knew he didn’t do everything he should have because of the hospital Covid protocol? Was dad treated differently because he didn’t have the vaccine? If dad’s pneumonia had been treated on the day he was admitted, would he have been discharged within a few days, would he have required ventilation, and would he even be dead?

The day after dad’s death, his medical record portal was no longer accessible. In the days that followed, we also received a letter from UPMC Passavant expressing their condolences, informing us of dad’s lower respiratory tract infection, and “in a commitment to transparency” they offer to answer our questions. We learned that the letter was the “Infection Letter” required by Pennsylvania Law. It was to notify us of the hospital-acquired infections that dad had, but it made no mention of these infections. I expressed our concerns and asked more questions. The representative needed time to gather some information and would follow up with me in a few days. I did not hear from her and when I followed up, she informed me, “I was advised not to call you back or answer your questions because they were already answered.” I requested contact information for the person who told her that. When I contacted the supervisor, I was told another letter was sent to my mom, my questions had been addressed, and there was nothing else they could do for us. I expressed concerns over their Covid protocol, the “commitment to transparency” while also having a “lack of transparency” with their “Infection letter.” I shared my husband’s Ivermectin recovery and conversations that were had with dad’s doctors. I was told that they would not prescribe anything potentially harmful to patients, those conversations didn’t happen, and she apologized that his doctors didn’t explain things better. Dad’s doctors were very clear and I know that their Covid protocol suppressed low-cost, safe and effective, FDA approved, doctor-prescribed medications that my husband and others received, they placed profit over patient lives, and my dad’s blood is on their hands.

I never imagined this would be our family's reality. My dad, Gary W., was an Army Veteran, a loving husband of 52 years, a father, beloved Pappap to five grandkids, father-in-law, brother, uncle and a friend to many. He was a gentle giant and one of the best guys in the universe.  This is devastating and I will never be okay with how he died.