Mark Schanuel Covid Memorial Fund

Unfortunately Mark lost his long battle with Covid on Monday November 23rd after almost 10 weeks of fighting. Thank you everyone that has donated or shared to try and help our family. We could still use all the shares or donations we can get to help out with everything during this difficult time. Thank you so much!

Hi, my name is Vickie.  I am Mark’s wife.  Mark’s battle with Covid began on September 17th when he was transported by ambulance to Memorial Hospital in Belleville because he was too weak to even stand long enough to be taken by car.  He was admitted to the ICU Covid Unit. Things quickly spiraled downhill due to his lungs being so damaged from Covid and he started having heart problems as a result of the Covid also.  By September 22nd he had to be vented.  On October 1st he took a turn for the worse and was airlifted to Barnes ICU Covid Unit.  During this entire time we were not allowed to visit him due to Covid restrictions.  Thankfully, that was finally lifted and we have been able to visit with him a little bit.  It has been a very up and down ride since then.  He’s had numerous other infections during this time...On October 15th they put in a Trach.  He does good on some days, other days not so much.  They do breathing trials on him where he is taking breaths on his own with the vent for backup.  He has been able to do 12 hours at a time a couple days, other days he only lasts 4-5 hours before he gets too tired and agitated.  In the middle of all this I found out a couple weeks ago that he also lost his job.  His company was bought out and the new company did not retain any employees.  The ICU Dr.’s at Barnes have determined that they have done everything they can to get Mark better and that he needs to be transferred to a Rehab hospital that specializes in weaning patients off vents and trach care.  This hospital also does aggressive therapy which is something he really needs to get stronger and hopefully be able to come back home to us.  They do physical, occupational, and speech therapy.  The biggest heartbreak for this is that the Rehab Hospital is in Chicago and once again, due to Covid restrictions, we will not be allowed to visit.  This is going to be a long and hard process to endure.  We don’t know what quality of life he will be able to lead after he leaves there but it is our best hope for a full recovery.  His lungs are very badly damaged so there is a chance that he will have to be on oxygen long term.