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Justin’s story and updates from his beautiful wife Georgia..
So many people have reached out and we can never thank you all enough! I will post Justin’s story for y’all! I’m so sorry if I haven’t responded or my responses were short! It has been a roller coaster of a ride!
On Monday August 16th Justin said he was not feeling well! We had a REALLY hectic busy weekend and we did not get home until late and then he went to work Monday at 3:00 am so I thought he was just really tired! He comes home we have a busy evening! He goes to bed late again and gets up early Tuesday 8/17! Said he was exhausted! Went to work at 3:00! Sends me a text at 5:02 (work starts at 5:00) says he is coming home and has a Covid test scheduled for Wednesday! I get him in at an urgent care for a rapid! He tests POSITIVE! Quarantine time! He stays in the bedroom for the most part and the kids and I stayed in the living room! After 2 days he moves himself to the basement! On Monday 8/23 he talked about maybe going to the hospital to get fluids! I take JessLynn her school to get tested to see if she can go back! She tested Positive! So quarantined until 9/3 according to the health department! Come home let justin know what’s going on! He decided he did not want to go to the hospital! After trying to give him food and him laying in the basement coughing constantly, could barely talk, fever off an on, etc, he comes up stairs at 8:00pm and asks me to take him to the hospital! So we load up and head up there! I go in while he stays in the van! I give them al his information and then he goes inside to the ER! They immediately gave him oxygen and kept him overnight! Tuesday 8/24 he tells me they said 5 days in the hospital on oxygen, and an anti viral medicine! Every day his responses were less and less! Got to a point where I could only talk to him once a day b/c it took a of his energy! They put him on a bypap machine at night! Then it was all day and all night! Only taking it off to eat! Tuesday 8/31 7 days in the hospital just after midnight I get a phone call from him saying they are going to intubate! His doctor then calls me and tells me they need to move him to the ICU and intubate him now before his lungs quit and they have to do it in an emergency setting! Justin and I are of course terrified but we understood! They get him moved to ICU and do a blood test! After 1.5 hours of waiting for the results they determine that he is stable enough to keep him on the bypap machine! When they took it off to give him a bath his oxygen dropped down in the high 70s! It took a while for his body to catch back up on the bypap! Then the next day they gave him breakfast and when he ate his oxygen dropped quickly! Which meant his reserve was almost non existent! This time his bypap machine had to be turned to 95%! They called me and said if it hits 100% he will have to be intubated and he would most likely not be able to eat the rest of the day! They did let him eat dinner! Meatloaf! HIS FAVORITE! Yesterday we talked about the ventilator and he said he would not willingly go on it! He texts me goodnight at 11:15! He FaceTimed me this morning at 9:10am and said “I need you!” So I get out of bed and go outside so I can focus on just him! He then says, “I’m too tired! They need to put me on the vent immediately!” He then wanted me to have Tiffany bring his short term disability paperwork up to the hospital! I told him no that it could wait and he said NO I NEED IT! I think to give him peace of mind and honestly he wanted to make sure his family would be taken care of b/c that’s how my amazing husband is! So thankfully Tiffany rushed him the paper work! I FaceTimed with him until the nurse came in! They did not intubate at that moment! I called an hour later and they had put a pic line in! The nurse promised me she would call me before she got off at 2:00 and give me an update! At 2:27 I received her call! She told me she had been in his room for the past 2 hours and that he was successfully intubated and his oxygen saturation was at 93%! Which is where it needs to be! She then told me he was really weak and much sicker than they thought! She said he did not have time to get the full amount of sedation when they had to start the intubation! I will be calling later this evening around 9:00pm to check on him and I will comment an update!
We appreciate ALL the prayers and support!
Update: 9/3 1:00am
❤️ JUSTIN UPDATE ❤️
His heart rate dropped so they put him in the prone position!(laying on his belly to put pressure on his lungs) They were able to lower the ventilator! It is now at 70 (it needs to be at 75 or less)! His saturation level is at 91 (should be 92 or higher) but she said that they just went in there and were messing with him rotating him around a bit! She said, “we aren’t out of the woods yet, but these are good signs.” I’m so ecstatic that his ventilator is at 70! Unfortunately with him being on his belly it would be hard for me to see him! So his nurse, Chelsea, is actually going to FaceTime me when they get him turned back over! She said they typically keep them in this prone position for around 16 hours, so they will be rotating him around 7:00am! Thank you all for the prayers! Please continue to pray for this amazing man! Im so proud of him for fighting! And I feel so overwhelmingly blessed to know he has an army of support! We love you all!
You shall worship the Lord your God, and I will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from among you.
Exodus 23:25
Justin update 9/5 6:30am
He has developed sepsis! They have ran several cultures to find where the infection is coming from! Results typically take 24 hours! The ventilator had been moved to 65, but it is back up to 70! His oxygen saturation level is at 89 and has been most of the night! Please continue to pray!
JUSTIN UPDATE 9/8
He has been very agitated and has been fighting the ventilator! They have maxed out his 2 sedation medications and almost maxed out his fentanyl! They had to turn his ventilator back up to 100%! His saturation level is at 91% but that’s the highest they have been able to get it! They have called and got approval and have everything in place to put him back on the paralytic, but they don’t want to if they don’t have to! I asked I I could talk to him and he, the nurse, said, “unfortunately that’s not possible at the moment!” My heart is broken and I’m at a loss! What an emotional end to this emotional day! It’s only going to get harder! But things usually get worse before they get better right?!?!
As for our house and our kids we are still going strong! Sawyer cried b/c he didn’t want to go in his bed tonight and he kept saying, “I just want daddy! I just want daddy in daddy’s bed!” My heart shattered and all I could think was me too buddy me too!
JUSTIN UPDATE 9/9
They have not put him back on the paralytic which is good! It may still have to happen but not at the moment! They were able to turn the vent down to 85% while maintaining the saturation level of 91-92%! He is still at the same sedation, but I’m taking this as a win! God is so good and he hears our prayers! Please continue to pray for my fighting husband!
JUSTIN UPDATE 9/9
He has done AMAZING today! God heard our prayers y’all! He has been stable all day! He even got a bath today and I did not effect him at all, normally it takes him a while to stabilize back out! His vent is set at 85%, but his saturation is at 94-95% which is the highest it has been! I got to FaceTime with him! He is still highly sedated so he can’t respond, but it was sooooo good to see his face and to tell him all about our day and about our family! I told him how much everyone loves him and how he has prayer warriors everywhere! Today has been such a great day! I am so grateful and I feel over the moon blessed!
JUSTIN UPDATE 9/10
I just FaceTimed with him! Man I love this man so much! I’m so proud of how hard he is fighting! He has been stable all day today! That makes 2 days in a row! Yay! They have lowered his vent to 75% and his saturation is at 93%! Thank you to everyone who has reached out via message, phone call, participated in the meal train, donated to the GoFundMe, or came over! We appreciate every single one of you! This momma is very tried so off too bed! We love you all! God Bless!
JUSTIN UPDATE 9/11
No changes really! Still Stable! And how infection numbers are improving! I have been on the phone off and on all day with different hospitals and his current physician, Dr. O’Reilly regarding a transfer to a facility with a Pulmonary team! He has been accepted to Deaconess in Evansville, but they said it will be about a week before they have a bed for him! There is a waitlist pretty much everywhere! I’m so happy with where we are though! What a blessing! God is so good! Keep fighting Honey Bear! We love you!
JUSTIN UPDATE
They have a bed for him! They are moving him tonight (during night shift) to deaconess gateway in Evansville! I was nervous if this was the right decision in the beginning! I prayed on it and talked about it with others! And even had my mom pray over the decision with me! Then today when he got accepted as a patient I was relieved, but worried when they said it would be a week before they would have a bed available! But here we are the same night! HE MOVES MOUNTAINS people!!!! His vent is at 70% and his saturation is at 93%! With that being said he is stable, but his nurse feels more comfortable with him flying and she has been an angel and I am so beyond grateful for her! She is going to FaceTime me before they take ………
While I was typing this update, she FaceTimed me so I could tell him I love him before he gets in the air!
Please continue to pray not only for Justin but for all of those who are sick and their families! This pain is indescribable, but God is Good ALL the time!!! Thank you again to everyone!!! We truly seriously cannot thank y’all enough for all the love, support, and most importantly prayers!!!!!!!!
❤️Justin Update 9/12❤️
I was able to FaceTime with him before the nurse left! He is maxed on 1 sedation medication but isn’t on the other one like he was at baptist health! So he was awake! I got to see my husbands eyes for the first time in 10 days! I was able to ask him questions and he nodded! He is scared, but I explained where he was and why! I also told him that I had EVERYTHING under control over here so I just need him to focus on breathing! I told him to relax and let the machine help him! I also told him to stop trying to sit up and to stop trying to pull the tubes out! He wants me to bring pictures of the kiddos up there so I will be trying to figure out how to do that tomorrow! I feel so relieved and blessed! God is real people! And the power of prayer is real!
❤️Justin Update 9/14❤️
They rotated him back from the prone position to his back early this morning! Apparently there was a kink in the tube so he wasn’t getting enough oxygen! Also at some point last night he threw up, so they are now pumping his stomach! Then they will let his stomach settle for a few hours before trying to give him nutrition through the feeding tube again! They don’t know what caused him to vomit! He has been very agitated and just doing everything he can to physically get out! So he is in restraints for his own safety! He has been on the dilaudid drip and they did give him a paralytic today just to calm him down! The paralytic was a one time dose and they said that it will wear off on its own! His vent is still at 100%, saturation is at 93% but they were able to drop the PEEP down to 14 (which is still high but better than 16!)
I brought up an envelop with all the cards we have gotten, pictures of family, his glasses, and a letter I wrote to him!
Please God continue to heal! Please help Justin to stay calm so the vent can do it’s job and we can lower his sedation and get out of this repetitive vent setting! Please continue to give the nurses and doctors the answers! Lord I pray you continue to keep these nurses, doctors, and staff safe so they can continue to heal! We love you so much Lord! We are so grateful for every blessing you have provided! We praise you Lord! In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
❤️ Justin update 9/15 ❤️
SAME! Nothing new to report!
……… EDITED………
Dr. Jawad just called me at 4:00 pm!
He said he is going to start him on Baricitinib! They could not use it before b/c he had the staph and step infections! But now that there has been no growth in 3 days he talked with The ID (infections disease) dr who said it would be okay to start it! This drug has shown Improvements and survived longer rates, it may cause infection, but it calms down inflammation in lungs!
20% improvement in survivalbility!
Dr. Jawad also said Justin is one of the sickest ones he has!
When asking about a trach he said … "does he need it? Yes! Can I do it? No!" He is nback on the paralytic and his vent is still at 100%! He said he is a long way from being able to have a trach b/c he needs it to be closer to 50%!
❤️ Justin Update 9/16 ❤️
Please keep those prayers coming! He has had a pretty good day today! Soni and I got to FaceTime with him! His poor face was swollen today! We told him it looked like he got into a fight with the bed and the bed won!
They were able to turn his vent down to 85%! His saturation level was at 93%! I just spoke with his night nurse and the vent is the same 85% and his saturation level is at 90%! He is in the prone position! He became a bit agitated and the nurse thinks maybe his sedation was wearing off some which doesn’t make sense b/c of how highly he is sedated! But his blood pressure and heart rate increased so she has started him on prescedex! This drug is typically used for anxiety!
Also Palliative care called me today! And his name is Derek! He was very helpful and very knowledgeable! And basically said that he is available for any and all questions I have! He will be included in my prayers b/c I honestly do not know how he does his job either! The nurses, doctors, and all the staff are truly amazing!
❤️Justin Update 9/17 ❤️
God is so good! He has had another good day today! His face is still pretty swollen! His left eye even looks bruised now! That bed is really getting the better of him! But…… they turned his vent down to 80% and his saturation is at 92%! Praise Jesus!!!!!
❤️Justin update 9/19❤️
He is much worse today! They have asked me to come in! For the first time in a month I’ll get to see my husband! They are going to suit me up and let me hold him! Please pray for my husband! I know God has a plan and it is much better and much bigger than anything I can ever imagine! He is a miracle maker and promise keeper! Justin needs a miracle today! If anyone would like to come to gateway deaconess hospital to pray for my husband and everyone else who is sick or affected by this virus I would greatly appreciate it! I hav not asked for anything from anyone, but I’m begging for Prayers! There is power in prayer and there is power in numbers! Please come pray with us!
❤️Justin Update 9/20❤️
When I talked to his nurse today they were in the process of supining him! (Rotating him from his belly to his back) his vent is at 90% his saturation was at 89% and his PEEP has been lowered to 14! His labs looks great! They did a chest and lung X-ray! Waiting for the results for that which I will be able to see on his “my chart”! I’m taking the wins! And giving God the glory for all these small victories! I asked the nurse about lowering or removing the paralytic and unfortunately we can’t b/c his lungs cannot breathe on their own and the paralytic is the only thing that is keeping him “resting” which allows the machine to do the work instead of him! I heard today there was a patient on the vent for 60days that just came off! I also heard there was a patient in the vent who lasted 145 days on it and is now home walking, talking, wnd recovering! I’m taking the advice and holding on to these success stories to keep hope! Thank you Hilary for giving me more hope! Please continue to pray for my husband and all other who are fighting this virus! Nothing is too hard for God!
❤️Justin Update 9/21 ❤️
Yesterday they did a chest X-ray and it showed that his lungs were worse! Today they have started him on Veletri! This medication actually goes through the ventilator and should open up with blood vessels! He is still swollen! His organs are all functioning well, which was a concern with the Baricitinib! However with the amount of fluid they are pumping into him his kidneys are not pushing enough out which is where some of the swelling is coming from! I DID get to see him today! Of course they have me fully protected as much as possible! The doctor and the nurse both told me they are “worried”! They have talked to me the past couple days about signing a DNR! Which I have fully decided not to do! I prayed over him! I read scripture over him! I played voice recordings from our children and our parents! I told him how much we all love him, miss him, and need him! I told Satan he could not have my husband or my family! I played my favorite gospel songs while I was in there! His finger nails were REALLY long! And he HATES when his nails get long or if anything gets under them! So I asked for clippers! And I was able to clip his nails! it may seem small to y’all, but getting to do something that was physically helpful and productive made me feel good! He is still going into the prone position! He actually is there right now! He is still on high sedation and paralytic drip called ROC! His vent is at 80%! PEEP of 14! Saturation 92-93!
Also she asked me about his beard and I told her to shave it all off so she can see just how young my husband really is! can’t wait to see his baby face!
Please continue to pray for my husband!
❤️Justin update 9/23❤️
His pulmonary doctor consulted Mayo Clinic and uofL! Justin is not a candidate for ECMO or a transplant! They also said that they would be doing everything that she is doing! He is still in the prone position with his vent at 90%, PEEP of 18, and oxygen saturation at 96%! Earlier today I was rocking Emmitt to get him to take a nap and I was praying! And I kept saying “light in the darkness! I just need a light in the darkness!” And almost immediately after I came out of the boys room my phone rang and it was Dr. Jeffries! She told me about her consults, fab me an update, and told me his oxygen saturation was at 99%! PRAISE JESUS! That is the highest it has been! And when checking his my chart it showed it had been between 98%-99% for several hours! Yes Lord! Tonight I prayed over him, I played voice recordings of our children, I told him how much he is loved, I told him how everyone is praying for him and loves him, I read the messages some of you have sent to him from his phone! I laid his prayer Shaw over him, I put his anointed cloth on him and prayed! I thanked the staff so much! And I told them they will see a miracle in that room! And I BELIEVE that! He is a Good good father and I am loved by him! He will heal!
❤️Justin Update 9/24 ❤️
Today is day 22 on the ventilator! He is in the prone position still the morning, but he is really holding his own! Last night was a short visit but I think we both needed that! Thank you Alisa Strickland Green for the prayer cloth! We give God all the Glory! His vent today is at 75%! Saturation is between 89%-92%!
Today I continue to pray for a life saving miracle, but I also praise these miracles! I know God is working! And we are praying! Thank you to everyone, including strangers, who are praying so hard for Justin and our family! Keep them coming! God is so good! Thank you Jesus!
❤️Justin Update 9/28❤️
He is having a rough day today! They are struggling with keeping his saturation levels up! The turned him to supine just before 11:00 and had to rotate him back to prone just before 1:00pm b/c his body was not tolerating it! The also attempted to lower his PEEP to 16 but he couldn’t handle that either! So he is in prone, Vent-100%, PEEP-18, oxygen saturation-low 90’s! He is still hitting goal for his nutrition of 50ml and is not vomiting! So that is a plus! His phone was dead b/c they had it plugged into the tv and the tv was off so I wasn’t able to read his messages to him, but I will tomorrow when I go to see him again! The nurse said she thinks the doctor wants to order a chest X-ray even though he is in prone, which I have been asking for for days now, and repeat of ABGS! Please continue to pray for my husband! We appreciate the prayers more than I can say!
❤️Final update❤️
I received a phone call this morning tell me it was time! I rode Justin’s bike to school like I had promised JessLynn! Then came home and was getting ready when they called me back and said
“are you driving yourself?”
“No I’m waiting for a sitter and then my mom is going to drive me.”
“So you are at home in Madisonville still?”
“Yes ma’am!”
“Okay. I’m so sorry to tell you this but he passed. About 10 mins ago.”
I was devastated! My mom, Soni, and I went to the hospital! I was finally able to see my husbands whole face with no tubes! He was still swollen and completely discolored! But I got to see my husband! I held him and I cried! The Chaplin came in and so did Derek from palliative care! The staff at deaconess has been nothing short of amazing!
Last night they called me in, and I called Debby, Billy, Alan, Julie, and Brian! They met me and mom at the hospital and the staff allowed us to go into his room one at a time to say what we needed! This morning his blood pressure dropped, and then his oxygen followed! Danielle, his nurse, did everything she could! But it was too late, his heart stopped! He was just simply too tired!
I am grateful that God chose to bring his child home using Covid! I was able to talk to my husband and FaceTime with him before he was out on a ventilator! Had he chose to take him in a sudden car accident I wouldn’t have been able to do that! I am also so grateful our family was able to see him individually last night!
JessLynn took this devastating news so well! She and I cried a lot together but she was very understand and understands that we can do all kind of things to keep his memory alive! Life will be so different! I will miss my soulmate, but God’s plan is much bigger and much better than mine!
Thank you again to EVERYONE who has prayed, reached out, helped, donated, everything we can even thank y’all enough!
Special thanks to Tiffany Dulworth, Ashley LaShea Pettus, Brianna Davis, and Jennifer Wooten! They have literally dropped everything and came to help with no questions asked!