Help Rusty With Expenses

On Monday, September 13th, Rusty went to St. Francis Hospital to be tested for Covid. The day before, he wasn't feeling great and developed a fever.

 

On Wednesday, September 15th, he was told he was positive for Covid. His quarantine should have ended on September 23rd. Instead, his fever would not break and at some point, he started having trouble breathing.

 

On Wednesday, September 22nd, Rusty let the family know that he was at the Columbus Piedmont ER and that he would be admitted. He was told that he would be there overnight but more than likely, a few days. He was receiving 60% oxygen. Each day we would check on him and he would tell us that he was feeling ok.

 

On Wednesday, September 29th, the hospital increased his oxygen to 80% but he said he was not feeling any worse.

 

Thursday, September 30th, he let us know that the hospital told him that he would probably be there for a total of 21 days.

 

Friday, October 1st, I sent a text checking on him around 8:00 p.m. est. He said he was ok but got short-winded earlier in the day. That was the last time we spoke to him.

 

Saturday, October 2nd, around 6:00 p.m., we found out that Rusty had been taken to ICU sometime during the night. We had sent him texts throughout the day that he hadn't responded to but we thought he was probably just sleeping. My dad had to call the hospital to find out he had been moved. We found out that he was sedated and on a ventilator.

 

Sunday, October 3rd, my dad gets a call from the hospital between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. It is the Kidney Specialist. He was calling to let us know that Rusty was going into kidney failure and would need to be put on dialysis.

 

Since then, Rusty has had several rounds of dialysis, which he seems to be tolerating well. There have been a few issues with his blood pressure being high and at least once when it was low. He had a slight temp for a few days. The nurses alternated days that Rusty would be supine (on back) or prone (on stomach).

 

The update as of 10/13/21 is that Rusty's temperature is back to normal. He is receiving 50% oxygen and has 96% saturation. He is off blood pressure medication. He continues to receive dialysis and is sedated. We don't know how long he will remain in this state.

 

We are raising money to help cover his bills during this time. We also don't know what medical bills he will incur. He has a long road ahead of him and we are trying to alleviate as much financial stress as possible. We want to make sure his children have what they need. Thank you for your prayers!