Help Covid Stricken Front Line RN

In December 2020, Travis signed up to work as a Front-line Disaster Relief Registered Nurse in order to directly care for Covid patients. The company sent him to an understaffed hospital in Amarillo, Texas, where the medical team was exhausted and overwhelmed. Travis agreed to work 75+ hours a week to help relieve the current healthcare staff. 

 

One evening after a shift, Travis spiked a high fever and tested positive for Covid. The company policy for Covid-positive staff is a 10-day isolated quarantine in a hotel room. During that time, Travis progressively got worse. No one checked in on Travis, even as his health was deteriorating. He felt forgotten, and began to fear for his life as the days went by. For 10 days Travis was sequestered in a small hotel room, unable to get fresh air, clean linens, or the care he desperately needed. 

 

Travis was told that if he left quarantine early he would compromise any support he could receive for medical care or workers’ compensation. He finally made a desperate plea to go to the Emergency Department, where they discussed admitting him to the hospital. However, Travis’ driving power was to get home to his family. The doctor agreed to prescribe medications and release him to carry out his quarantine. 

 

After his mandatory quarantine, I flew to Amarillo to drive Travis back home to Knoxville, Tennessee. The drive was grueling. Travis knew that he still might be contagious, and even though I was wearing a mask, he fought to wear his N95 mask and kept his window down for increased ventilation. Travis was in and out of consciousness as he fought to get a breath through the thick face covering every minute of the 18-hour road trip. 

 

In less than 24 hours after returning home, Travis’ condition worsened. He was admitted to a local hospital in Knoxville, where he spent the next nine days. During his hospitalization, Travis received plasma, three different antibiotics, and steroids. He was on 15 liters of high-flow oxygen, and at one point he was told that he’d need to be put on a ventilator if his condition did not improve.

 

Because of the severity of his illness, the quarantine was extended to 21 days. Travis’ feelings of loneliness and anxiety grew as minutes seemed like hours while he fought every moment to get a breath. Travis longed to be with his family and for human contact. Although the hospital staff provided the medical care he needed, they were unable to provide the human side of recovery. 

 

Grief-stricken with the possibility of a ventilator, I felt compelled to ensure that life insurance policies and other end-of-life details were in place for Travis. Just a few weeks earlier we had been detailing plans for our dream house. Travis is a former University of Tennessee baseball player, and staying in Knoxville is important to us both. I continued to hope for his recovery as I recalled the “little things” that I loved about Travis and the wonderful adventures that we’d shared over the years. Through tremendous despair, I was still able to feel the effects of the powerful prayers and healing vibrations from friends and family. 

 

This is one of the texts that I recently sent out to update family and friends: “After 27 hours of waiting for home oxygen service, Travis is home!  He’s now in the bath listening to his favorite tunes. Recovery is sure to have fantastic days as well as a few challenging ones. Please continue to send wonderful healing vibrations and/or powerful prayers our way. Amazing things will come of this. It just has to!”

 

Travis is still on continuous oxygen and the doctors are unsure of the long-term effects of Covid, although they’re estimating several months for recovery. They’re also unsure of when he’ll be able to return to work.  Even though Travis is working hard with his recovery plan, he still needs assistance walking, preparing meals, and with almost all daily care.

 

We’re rapidly burning through the money that we had saved for our house, and the various insurance and support programs that we’ve tapped can only replace a fraction of the salary that our whole family relies on. Workers’ comp will cover most, but not all, of Travis’ medical bills, and workers’ comp doesn’t cover the household bills, much less our new care expenses. I’m currently working as a teacher and I’ve depleted most of my sick leave. 

 

Travis is a front-line RN hero who chose to care for Covid patients. He sacrificed Christmas, our son's 18th birthday, our daughter’s birthday, and our 20th wedding anniversary to care for others.  We’re very appreciative of donations for Travis’ ongoing care and daily expenses, healing thoughts, and prayers during this difficult time.  


**Travis is not blaming the company. He’s working with them to consider different protocols for nursing staff who are Covid-positive and quarantined. 


Shannon Exum
#FundCovidRelief