Donation protected
Thursday, February 4th, 2021, was an average day for us. As we set the table and gathered to eat dinner, Henry said he thought he must have gas because he had pain in his ribs, not like heart trouble he said. He was certain that gas was all it was. So we ate dinner and carried on. The rest of the night, Henry winced repeatedly with shooting pains in his ribs. He was sure if he just moved around and drank water he would be fine. The next day, he was now feeling sick, and unable to get work done, even the simplest of tasks were impossible, added to the mix he was then having a hard time catching his breath. Friday at 8pm, we dressed the kids in pjs, piled the family into the car and took Henry to the emergency room. We packed snacks and screens and prepared for a long night. In the era of Covid, we knew we could not go in with Henry- and to be honest, the thought of bringing a 3- and 7-year-old into a boring sterile emergency room was not anything we were disappointed about. To our surprise, Henry came out with a (later determined) misdiagnosis of a strained muscle, and a prescription for a mild muscle relaxer. We took Henry home, only to wake the next day finding Henry feeling much worse. It was Super Bowl weekend, so what better a time to rest up. The night of the big game, Henry was battling a low-grade fever, chills, the breathlessness, and the shooting pain in his ribs. Henry made it through the game but couldn’t make it through the night. Sunday, February 7th, he drove himself to his second emergency room visit. After a quick exam and another covid test (and another negative result), the medical team determined Henry had pneumonia. Again, they sent Henry home, this time with a 7-day dose of antibiotics, and stronger muscle relaxer.
Another 24 hours went by, no improvement in his condition. The pain was far worse. Henry’s 3rd trip to the emergency room, and 2 more covid tests later, with negative results, Henry was admitted directly to the ICU. X-rays and scans, blood tests and EKGs … doctors were scratching their heads. Finally, the 3rd set of chest x-rays revealed a large infection in the pleural cavity, or empyema. The infection explained the pain in the chest and ribs. Henry had a tube inserted into his chest to drain the infection, while also started on a much stronger antibiotic. 24 hours later, the drainage was not where the doctors had hoped, and a surgical team was called to monitor and evaluate. An even stronger antibiotic was administered, the clock was set for 24 hours to see improvement or surgery would be the next course of action. As we neared zero hour for decision making, things were looking grim. Henry’s morale was low, he wasn’t eating or responding to treatment. We braced ourselves for the news that he’d need surgery. A stroke of good fortune, and possibly after a long distance Valentine’s Day heartfelt pep talk and facetime convos with his children, Henry’s condition improved enough to eliminate the need for surgery. Within 8 hours, his doctor reassessed his situation and determined he’d be fit to come home in 24 hours as long as he continued to progress.
Henry was released one day later, requiring breathing therapy, off work for 2 – 3 weeks and potent antibiotics for 4 weeks.
Now that he is home and we can take a moment to assess where we go from here, Henry and I have stayed positive and persevered the best we can. When the pandemic and lockdown happened, we reminded ourselves to laugh rather than cry and not let the small things wear us down. Close friends and family were speechless when asked if we had gotten a check for the first round of stimulus checks. We didn’t; until late August, but because of a missing signature (the check was made out to both of us, and only he signed it) which led to a two week ordeal and resulted in an un-depositable stimulus check that we mailed back to the IRS requesting new check on Sept 19, 2020. As of today, the answer to everyone’s question is, no, we have not received first round, nor second round yet. We choose to be focused on moving forward. Henry and I need not look further than our beautiful healthy children for inspiration to work harder and tackle each day with optimism. Henry’s shop is conveniently located where he is virtually connected to his client base. When the lockdown went into place, even if it was not the easy thing to do – Henry closed his doors. 90% of his clients were staying home, and Henry felt too vulnerable to take the customers. We knew this would be hard, but to keep our children and loved ones safe, we made the choice to temporarily close the shop. Once the summer came, Henry scheduled spaced out appointment and developed a safe contactless method of receiving clients and their vehicles. Henry has worked tirelessly, even during the initial lockdown, and not detailing cars, he studied technique, read all he could on everything detailing and small business, homed in on marketing skills, whatever he could to stay relevant and maintain his reputation of excellence.
We not only battled the economic crisis from the pandemic, but the trickle-down effects like theft and vandalism. Our shop has been stolen from three times since the pandemic began. The building has security and each time the security has shrugged their shoulders while our insurance and overhead costs increased. The latest theft was caught on camera roughly 2 weeks before Henry was hospitalized, the thief carried Henry’s blower with SoCal Auto Detail Center written in large black letters, into the office building, smoking a cigarette directly in front of the security desk. We watched with our chins dropped to the floor as we watched the footage of this, after the fact of course, the security asking if the thief needed help! Outraged but undeterred, Henry and I asked each other, “ok how do we move forward?” Obstacles are just that, a challenge but not a dead end.
We are blessed to have insurance through my employment, but no where near the coverage needed to pay for three emergency room trips and 9 day stay in the hospital with all the testing involved. As the reality of what next comes to light, it pains me to see this burden weighing on Henrys shoulders. He should be focused on a full recovery, not buried in anxiety about how to keep his business thriving and a roof over his family’s head. He is venturing to return to work this week, but he, we, could use help as we rebuild our business and his health. Any amount is appreciated, as every little bit will helps.
Another 24 hours went by, no improvement in his condition. The pain was far worse. Henry’s 3rd trip to the emergency room, and 2 more covid tests later, with negative results, Henry was admitted directly to the ICU. X-rays and scans, blood tests and EKGs … doctors were scratching their heads. Finally, the 3rd set of chest x-rays revealed a large infection in the pleural cavity, or empyema. The infection explained the pain in the chest and ribs. Henry had a tube inserted into his chest to drain the infection, while also started on a much stronger antibiotic. 24 hours later, the drainage was not where the doctors had hoped, and a surgical team was called to monitor and evaluate. An even stronger antibiotic was administered, the clock was set for 24 hours to see improvement or surgery would be the next course of action. As we neared zero hour for decision making, things were looking grim. Henry’s morale was low, he wasn’t eating or responding to treatment. We braced ourselves for the news that he’d need surgery. A stroke of good fortune, and possibly after a long distance Valentine’s Day heartfelt pep talk and facetime convos with his children, Henry’s condition improved enough to eliminate the need for surgery. Within 8 hours, his doctor reassessed his situation and determined he’d be fit to come home in 24 hours as long as he continued to progress.
Henry was released one day later, requiring breathing therapy, off work for 2 – 3 weeks and potent antibiotics for 4 weeks.
Now that he is home and we can take a moment to assess where we go from here, Henry and I have stayed positive and persevered the best we can. When the pandemic and lockdown happened, we reminded ourselves to laugh rather than cry and not let the small things wear us down. Close friends and family were speechless when asked if we had gotten a check for the first round of stimulus checks. We didn’t; until late August, but because of a missing signature (the check was made out to both of us, and only he signed it) which led to a two week ordeal and resulted in an un-depositable stimulus check that we mailed back to the IRS requesting new check on Sept 19, 2020. As of today, the answer to everyone’s question is, no, we have not received first round, nor second round yet. We choose to be focused on moving forward. Henry and I need not look further than our beautiful healthy children for inspiration to work harder and tackle each day with optimism. Henry’s shop is conveniently located where he is virtually connected to his client base. When the lockdown went into place, even if it was not the easy thing to do – Henry closed his doors. 90% of his clients were staying home, and Henry felt too vulnerable to take the customers. We knew this would be hard, but to keep our children and loved ones safe, we made the choice to temporarily close the shop. Once the summer came, Henry scheduled spaced out appointment and developed a safe contactless method of receiving clients and their vehicles. Henry has worked tirelessly, even during the initial lockdown, and not detailing cars, he studied technique, read all he could on everything detailing and small business, homed in on marketing skills, whatever he could to stay relevant and maintain his reputation of excellence.
We not only battled the economic crisis from the pandemic, but the trickle-down effects like theft and vandalism. Our shop has been stolen from three times since the pandemic began. The building has security and each time the security has shrugged their shoulders while our insurance and overhead costs increased. The latest theft was caught on camera roughly 2 weeks before Henry was hospitalized, the thief carried Henry’s blower with SoCal Auto Detail Center written in large black letters, into the office building, smoking a cigarette directly in front of the security desk. We watched with our chins dropped to the floor as we watched the footage of this, after the fact of course, the security asking if the thief needed help! Outraged but undeterred, Henry and I asked each other, “ok how do we move forward?” Obstacles are just that, a challenge but not a dead end.
We are blessed to have insurance through my employment, but no where near the coverage needed to pay for three emergency room trips and 9 day stay in the hospital with all the testing involved. As the reality of what next comes to light, it pains me to see this burden weighing on Henrys shoulders. He should be focused on a full recovery, not buried in anxiety about how to keep his business thriving and a roof over his family’s head. He is venturing to return to work this week, but he, we, could use help as we rebuild our business and his health. Any amount is appreciated, as every little bit will helps.
Organizer
Henry Diaz
Organizer
San Diego, CA