Hello! Bailey Thompson (Dethlefs) here, on behalf of my dad Dennis Dethlefs. Some of you may know that my father contracted Covid-19 in the middle of January. He spent the first 2 weeks fighting it off the best he could, before he had to be brought to Willamette Falls hospital by ambulance on January 27th, due to respiratory complications. After an hour of waiting we were guided to a small room where we were joined by the doctor, that little did we know at the time, had just intubated my father. He proceeded to inform us that our dad had a little less than a 20% chance of survival and an even smaller chance of ever being successfully liberated from the ventilator that was keeping him alive, due to the extensive damage his lungs had amassed leading up to his critical condition. From there we were told we should go see him, as he was to be immediately transported to Portland Providence ICU, and the doctor at the time could not guarantee that we would have another opportunity to see him. That image will likely haunt us forever.

 

Dad was successfully transported to Portland providence on the 27th, and even successfully liberated from the ventilator 3 days later. Unfortunately a week post extubation, he almost coded due to a reoccurring respiratory infection, in which he was emergently re-intubated and chemically paralyzed for nearly 3 weeks.

 

After a week post re-intubation, his doctors successfully placed his feeding tube through his stomach.

 

2 weeks post re-intubation, his pulmonologist suggested placing a tracheostomy tube through his neck, to help prevent any additional backslides with his recovery or complications/infections that could potentially be caused by the tube placed through his mouth and down his throat. We were informed the tracheostomy tube would inhibit him from eating or speaking while the tube is in for the duration of his recovery, but crucial for his improvement. We proceeded with the procedure, and from there they were able to gradually wake him back up. Dad was very confused and lost after having been entirely unconscious for 3 weeks, but very thankful to be alive and blessed to have Tina by his side every step of the way.

 

2 weeks post trach placement, we were informed dad would be transported to a long term specialty hospital, where they specialize in ventilator and respiratory support weaning. Unfortunately, upon his arrival, there was complications with his admittance and they were unable to successfully re-ventilate my dad, and he was urgently rushed back to Portland Providence on March 3rd. By the time he had arrived back to the ICU at Portland Providence, he was in critical condition, and we were told they weren’t sure if he would make it through the night.

 

Well, he did.

 

On March 14th, he had his second transfer to the specialty hospital, where they were more then ready for him and he was successfully transferred in stable condition!

 

Since then dad has LEAPED forward in his recovery! On March 29th he came off of the ventilator for the first time since his re-intubation in the beginning of February! He was only supposed to go a 2 hour stretch not ventilated, and ended up surpassing 5 hours on his first day, with plans of a 12 hour stretch the following day. The next morning I got a text from my dad that he was talking, with the help of a Passy-Muir valve that he had just been cleared to use by his pulmonologist, after being very impressed with his progress. I rushed to the hospital, went flying in to his room, just for him to look at me and say “hey!” So casually as if it hadn’t been almost 2 1/2 months since anyone had heard his voice. I cried, he cried, the nurse cried… it was the best day any of us had had in a very long time.

 

As many of you have likely seen on Facebook, Dad was officially liberated from the ventilator on April 1st!!!! Breathing on his own via his nose and mouth with only an additional 2L of oxygen through nose cannulas.

 

The newest updates on his progress are: his tracheostomy tube was removed on April 6th, which clears him to eat WHATEVER he wants!! Some of you may ask if he got his cheeseburger, we’re still working up to that at his pace!

Today, April 14th he was moved down to the 1st floor and off of the intensive care floor, his room is no longer equipped with a ventilator on standby, and the first floor is designated for patients getting close to discharge!!! Can we get an HALLELUJAH!! God is GOOD!

 

Our days lately, have been spent talking a lot about the future, what’s in store for our dad and our family moving forward from this horrific, yet humbling and eye opening experience. Dad has suffered through extreme critical illness over the last 3 months, and his body has taken a great toll. He is now working through the muscle atrophy through out almost his entire body, his left shoulder has started to subluxate, cause the inability to raise his left arm or use his dominant hand, he has neuropathy in both feet, and currently cannot get out of bed without a hoyer lift or 2 physical therapists and all of the energy in his body. His doctors can confidently say that he will not be able to drive for a year or longer, and will require long term physical therapy and at home care as he gains back his strength and muscle memory. There is no time frame for his total recovery, and ultimately he may never entirely recover from this incredibly life altering illness. We are learning to navigate through life differently, and accommodate for him as he adjusts to his disabilities in his home. This experience has not only drained my father physically, but also mentally and financially. My father lives off of a single income, which will now be a fixed income due to needing to proceed with an early retirement, and no current expectations that he will ever be able to work again. His bank account is starting to get uncomfortably low during his hospital stay, while only getting a fraction of his typical paychecks and depending on the renewal of his FMLA claim every 6 weeks. We are having a hard time keeping up in the midst of preparing and making decisions for his retirement plan, and are struggling to get the information we need to do so in a time sensitive situation. We have received help from a very kind family friend, who has so graciously paid my fathers out of pocket hospital bills, so that my father will have the money to pay his living expenses next month. We have no current time frame for when we will receive the estimates we need to proceed with my fathers retirement plan, and know for sure we won’t have enough coming in to get through June.

 

Our father and our family have decided to share his story with our friends and extended family, with no expectations, only a lot of love and appreciation for those who are able to contribute to this fundraiser to help get dad through a really rough time in his life. For everyone who knows my dad, he’s undoubtedly one of the toughest people you know, but he is also a friend you can always lean on. We come to you, as a very humbled family, to lean on; and we thank and love everyone who has taken the time to send up a prayer for our dad, to share an encouraging message with us and him, to those who have reached out offering additional support and guidance. We appreciate everything and everyone who has supported our dad through this extremely difficult time.

 

I will continue to share updates on his progress, and his official discharge and arrival back home!

 

With love,

The Dethlefs’ family