Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed

I met the love of my life 8 years ago. I was looking for my Prince Charming and stumbled upon him by accident on-line. He wasn't one of the gentlemen that were selected for me. His picture was off to the side, and I only clicked on his profile because his picture looked odd to me. I couldn't make out what he was doing and was intrigued. Turned out he was kissing a dolphin. That picture was the end of my frog kissing days. So here's the story of my prince...his name is Jed.

Jed Tancock is everything that I had been praying for and all the things that I didn't even know I needed. Together we have a blended family of 6. I have 4 children and he has two.

He is my biggest supporter and best friend. We were supposed to be married November 13th but our plans were paused when our family became sick with Covid.

At first Jed had mild symptoms but by day 6 we were both very sick with fevers and cough but thought it would just be a matter of time and we would feel better. Things took a serious turn two days later. On October 19th Jed woke and was having issues breathing and was disoriented. He couldn't tell me his birthday and had difficulty standing. I rushed him to the closest ER and had to let security take him from me at the door. He was admitted to the COVID unit and later moved to the ICU as he required high levels of oxygenation. He was on isolation for the first 21 days and we could only communicate via text. We couldn't wait until he was able to have a visitor and we could hug one another again.

After 25 days in the ICU he was intubated as the mask could no longer provide the oxygen level needed for him. We quickly had to to say I love you to each other before I was whisked out of the room for the doctors to start the procedure. He was put into an induced coma. Late one night while I sat sitting in the recliner in his room a resident came to me and told me that the likelihood of survival for him was very slim. Jed is 48 years old with no prior health issues. All of his other organs were working and I wouldn't believe that there was nothing more to be done. As I sat frantically thinking at his bedside I remembered a text I received earlier that day from our neighbor that is nurse. She told me he needed Ecmo treatment. I had never heard of that and did what we all do when we need to know...I googled it. It was easily apparent that Ecmo can be a 2nd chance at life for some. It's a gas exchange device that takes over the work of the lungs, affording them time to heal, simply put - it's an artificial lung. The next morning I added myself to the team circle when the doctors rounded for the morning and asked about Ecmo. The doctor told me they didn't have Ecmo there and he would need to be transferred to a hospital that did and the odds for finding a spot for him would be nearly impossible. I like a challenge.

On the morning of November 13th instead of marrying my best friend, I was working to save his life. I contacted friends and family and enlisted some to reach out to the local news and some to call all the hospitals that have Ecmo treatment. There is power in numbers. Two of our local stations picked up the story and were aired that weekend.

Jed's Physical Therapist saw the news coverage and while at home on her off day, she set to work reaching out to everyone she knew to see what if anything she could do to try and help save his life. In nothing short of a miracle her message was seen by another PT at DMC Harper in Detroit. There just happened to be ONE open bed, but the doctor was going to be very selective and it had to go to a candidate that he felt had a chance to make it. Jed was that patient. He was accepted by DMC hospital for transfer and was transported by survival flight on Monday 11/15. The nurses and PTs that cared for him at St Mary's walked him out to see him fly away for his 2nd chance.

He was placed on Ecmo upon arrival and his body has been fighting to sync with the machine. Unfortunately it isn't the smoothest transition for Covid patients as their bodies go through "air hunger" meaning their brains don't understand that it has the air it needs from the machine and alerts the lungs to breath rapidly, almost gasping for air. The clinical team does their best to let families know that this is a LONG process and there will be many ups and downs and survival rate is 40%. Words can't convey the nearly daily heartbreak you feel as you hope for positive news and get one set back after another. Jed currently has sepsis on top of pneumonia BUT he is strong and I believe he can make it. This is where faith has to take the lead. How that success comes could look a lot of different ways, a trach, needing ecmo for months, beating multiple infections, maybe even a lung transplant. He has a long journey ahead that we are told will be full of ups and down. We are requesting help for medical bills and expenses while on the road to Jed's recovery. Believing that with God's grace our story will end with the two sweetest words - I Do .