COVID Christmas

Hi, my name is Larry, and I am fundraising for my son Chris.

I want to tell you the story of our experience with COVID.

It all started in November 2021 when I contracted COVID and was bedridden for 14 days. I thought I had a severe case of COVID, but we were soon going to find out that my bought with COVID was not as nasty as it could be. My wife Kathy then contracted COVID, which was less severe than mine. Then all hell broke loose when my two son's caught COVID.

My oldest son Josh was the second of our two boys to get COVID, and his case developed and got worse than my wife's or mine. Josh was admitted to the Hospital and was put on medication and high doses of Oxygen. Josh ended up being in the Hospital for 3 to 4 weeks and was discharged with supplemental Oxygen and breathing treatments. He spent the next 4-6 weeks recovering at home.

I gave you all this back story, so I may give you Chris's story.

Chris caught COVID while Kathy was in the middle of her COVID exposure. Chris started to have breathing issues, and we took him to Emergency at the Hospital. They would not admit him because they told him he was not sick enough, gave him a steroid shot, and sent him home. Two days later, Chris had a more challenging time breathing and could not get to the car without assistance. We took him back to the E.R, and this time he was admitted. After being admitted, he was soon transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Grosse Point.

For the next two weeks, Chris was put on heavy oxygen treatments and several different medications to try and combat the COVID virus. During that time, he showed some improvement, and then his health would slip back. It was a roller coaster ride for him up one day and down the next. His roller coaster ride also took an emotional toll on his mother and me.

Towards the end of his stay at Beaumont, we were told that he needed even more extensive treatment than Beaumont Hospital could provide. They told us he needed to be placed on an ECHMO Machine and that they were trying to locate a hospital with this specialized equipment. We were told that if he could not get into a hospital with this equipment, his chance of survival would be very slim. Beaumont found a hospital with an ECHMO Machine available and was immediately transferred to Hutzel Hospital, part of the DMC Group.

At Hutzel Hospital, Chris was placed on the ECHMO Machine and would stay on this machine for the next 105 days. For those that don't know what an ECHMO Machine does, it is a machine that does the work of a person's heart and lungs which allows the heart and lungs to heal without the stress put on the organs. His health was not good, and we were told to prepare ourselves if ECHMO treatment was unsuccessful. Chris did Crash once while on ECHMO but was able to be brought back. After many different drug treatments and ECHMO adjustments, Chris finally turned the corner.

During his time in all the Hospitals, Chris was bedridden and unable to move. While on ECHMO, he was put into a mild coma so that he would not move and possibly pull out the lines of the ECMO Machine, which was keeping him alive. The drug-induced coma caused his muscles to go into a state of atrophy, which made him unable to walk, stand or move his arms and hands. After getting off the ECHMO Machine, he was transferred to Siani Grace Hospital to have his tracheotomy removed and start some mild physical therapy. He was at Siani Grace for the next month and then moved back to Hutzel Hospital to R.I.M (Rehabilitation Institue of Michigan). At R.I.M., he was put through more intense physical therapy and showed slight improvement. Chris spent a total of over 7 months in the Hospital. We were then told that he needed to be discharged due to his insurance and that we would now have to take care of his needs independently.

How were we going to deal with this? Our son is in a wheelchair and cannot do anything independently. How were we going to get him in and out of the house? How do we get him to appointments? Well, the first thing was to get a ramp built at our home to allow access with a wheelchair. Insurance did not help with this; the ramp cost was $8,000. So many things that we are now trying to figure out, and the cost of his care will strain our already paycheck-to-paycheck life.

We will do everything we can to restore our son to everyday life. We know the road ahead of Chris is long and will be hard and costly, and we will make it no matter the cost.

I share this story in the hopes that we may get some financial help to combat the costs ahead of us. Whether this is accomplished or not, we appreciate the thoughts and prayers that Chris and our family have received. I also share this story to show people the seriousness of COVID and how it can turn a family upside down.

I call this story COVID Christmas because we could not spend Christmas with our family; to this day, our Christmas tree is still up. Presents are still unopened under the tree, waiting for us all to celebrate Christmas as a family.