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Help save Chris Ryan and Family

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In the middle of June 2020 my husband started getting sick, he was coughing and running a high fever.  I took him to the hospital and they diagnosed him with pneumonia and gave him medication.  They did a COVID-19 test while he was in the emergency room.  After his diagnosis of pneumonia they sent him home. For the days that he was at home we never left the house, we stayed in quarantine, I worked from home and took care of him.  The day after his diagnosis of pneumonia, Public Health called and said he has now been diagnosed with COVID-19 and Pneumonia.  That is when our life completely turned upside down.

I contacted our primary care provider and told her of the diagnosis, which they sent all the prescription requests directly to the pharmacy (the emergency room didn't prescribe him anything that would help for COVID-19).  I was told to get tested immediately.  I tested positive but had no symptoms so medication wasn't necessary for me.  

I spoke with several nurses and doctors (I work from home for a hospital) who recommended that I keep an eye on his pulse oxygen which is what has caused a lot of victims of COVID-19 to end up in the hospital or who stayed home and passed away because they didn't know what signs to look for.  The first thing that I did was order an expensive thermometer, blood pressure monitor, and a pulse/pulse oxygen monitor.  I received everything within 2 days later (Thank you Amazon Prime).  I took his pulse which was 102 (elevated) and his pulse oxygen which was 49 (extremely low), his temperature was okay because we finally got it under control and his blood pressure was low.  I told my husband we need to go back to the hospital now and he said to just call the on call nurse.  One call to the nurse and they said don't drive to the hospital you need EMS immediately.  So I called 911 and explained everything to them.  The fire truck and the ambulance arrived about 5 minutes later, everyone geared up in their HAZMAT suits and me and my husband standing there in masks.  Of course the entire neighborhood came out to watch the spectacle. That was the last time I saw my husband, they put him on the gurney and he was on his way to the hospital.  With the strict hospital restrictions, we have not been able to go see him, hold his hand, talk to him or just let him know we are all praying for him.  

Within 2 weeks of being in the hospital the doctor stated he had done everything he could for him and the only saving grace would be for him to be medivac (Helicopter transfer) to another hospital that has the ECMO machine for further treatment.  But, the problem was they couldn't get him stable enough for transport.  They told us he may not make it without being transferred, so they suggested we start making our good bye letters, so he could hear them before passing on (End of life care).  They even gave us a date of when they believed he would pass.   Writing that letter was one of the most devastating things I have ever had to do in my life.  What do you say to  someone that you have spent more than half of your life with?  They gave us about 20 minutes to write those letters and to get it to them.  By this time, Chris was in an induced coma to keep him calm and in hopes that the medicine would work better without him being agitated.  Well by God's good grace they were able to get him stabilized and transferred to the other hospital with the ECMO machine, which is necessary to keep him alive and hopeful get him well.

It has now been over a month that he has been in the hospital.  The machines he is on to keep him alive are the ECMO machine, ventilator, and dialysis.  He has chest tubes and a tracheotomy to help him breath.  His lung collapsed and has a broncoscopy done every day to remove blood clots in his lungs.  He has been in a constant state of "Stable" but in critical condition for a month.  They give him a 50% chance of survival.

They have tried every COVID medicine out right now and some of the experimental ones.  He is healing very slowly.  But, the scary part is he takes 2 steps forward and then one giant step backwards.  Once something good happens we get our hopes up,  then something else happens, we get knocked back down again and we are back where we started.  He has not made any real lasting improvements and we are in a state of limbo not known what is ahead for us.  They said this will be a very long and hard time for us and we are still not sure what permanent damage this virus has done to him.  

The hard part for my family is we are now one income short and I am having a difficult time trying to makes ends meet.  I have never been one to ask for help from others, I can usually find a way to get things done but now I must ask for help, because I've exhausted all of my resources.  I don't want to lose every thing Chris and I have built from 35 years of marriage.  I've made a list of things  I have to sale, so we can survive.  This is all before the hospital bill start rolling in. I can't even imagine what it is going to be like once that happens. 

It's truly amazing how devastating this disease is and how we will never know how it is spread or who gave it to who.  Everyone needs to be cautious of where they are going and what they are doing.  I don't know what the future holds for me and my family right now but I am doing everything I can to hold my family together. 

I know this is a difficult time for everyone, but I'm asking if you can spare a little money to help us, we would really appreciate it.  God bless you all and I hope this virus never touches your life, like it has mine and my family.
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Donations 

  • Shannon Hamilton
    • $30
    • 5 yrs
  • Peter Leal
    • $250
    • 5 yrs
  • Michelle Tibbetts
    • $50
    • 5 yrs
  • Frank Rodelli
    • $50
    • 5 yrs
  • Lisa Ratcliff
    • $50
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer

Carol Nix Ryan
Organizer
Hudson, FL

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