- M
My Health Nightmare - Fundraiser for Anthony Young / Bailey Grooms
OVERALL NARRATIVE:
My symptoms started out Thursday 11/19 after a normal day of work. It all started out of no where and hit me like a train with a super strong headache and then this quickly made its way into hot flashes where I’d wake up in a literal puddle of sweat or get so cold that my bones and teeth would ache from shaking. I was exhausted all the time and could barely get out of bed the whole weekend. I had muscle and joint pain all over and was in a constant state of confusion / feeling very out of it all day and night long. I began to throw up everything I ate and drank for 2 full days.
I got my first rapid COVID test Friday 11/20 and it was negative (my roommate, roommates friend, and my girlfriend were all negative too from the rapid test #1). My fever finally spiked to 103 so I went to into the ER, the night of Monday 11/23 and got a PCR COVID test (came back negative 3 days later, this was COVID test #2) The ER nurses and doctors kept me there until around 1am when my fever dropped from 103 and told me just to alternate extra strength Tylenol and ibuprofen every other 4 hours and I’d be fine with fluids and rest.
I woke up Tuesday 11/24 feeling no different so I went and got a 2nd rapid COVID test (my 3rd COVID test overall). This came back negative for me and my girlfriend again. I still didn’t feel good at night so I called Teladoc on my moms insurance policy and only got prescribed a pill for nausea and vomiting. This doctor told me it was probably just COVID and I’d be fine in a few days if I rested and drank plenty fluids. The pills helped for a few days then the throw up was back along with constant diarrhea / severe stomach aches now.
I barely ate anything at all on thanksgiving day and my fever spiked at 103 again the morning of Friday 11/27. I went to the Orlando downtown hospital but there were 26 people in front of me and after 2 hours of waiting nothing changed. I decided to head home feeling what I thought was “slightly better”. I tried to eat a big dinner Friday night and could only get a few bites in before feeling sick to my stomach.
AGAIN, I felt terrible all night and the next morning. My fever once again climbed to the 103/104 mark. At the pleading advice of my terrified girlfriend, I went to the advent health ER Saturday 11/28 at around 3pm and got transferred via ambulance to the Advent East Orlando hospital at 10pm that Saturday night.
I have been in the hospital since this Saturday night. Within my stay here, they gave me a super painful spinal tap and found in my spinal fluid that I have pneumonia. I also have viral meningitis and I have an infection that originally started in my stomach that has spread throughout blood stream. No doctor has been able to figure out how I got this blood infection or why it hit me so hard when it did.
I have had X rays on my lungs that showed water (not supposed to be there) and a good amount of overall lung deflation.
The doctors are still thinking everything could point back to COVID, but after 5 total negative tests (2 rapid and 3 PCR) they were not able to give me the COVID steroid unless I had taken a positive test. I also tested negative for the COVID antibodies at the hospital. I was also tested negative for the common flu, but given a flu shot during my stay.
I have given more blood than I even knew my body could hold and I am running out of open veins for IV locations on both of my arms / wrist.
I’m on very heavy oxygen around the clock and am having a lot of trouble breathing still, I am also on heavy steroids, AND LOTS of IV antibiotics.
The doctors here are actively giving me ultrasound scans and x rays and trying to determine the root cause. They originally thought I might have a brain clot, but they have ruled that out and my brain appears completely healthy. The doctors were also afraid that I may have the blood infection spread into my heart valves, but with how much stronger and healthier I feel with each passing day, they have confidently ruled this out and stated that my heart is completely healthy as well.
My mom and aunt Jen flew down from New Hampshire on Tuesday 12/1 and will be staying in FL until this Sunday 12/12.
UPDATE 1:
I am breathing better still, but still having a lot of back / neck / shoulder spasms that really just make me sit in agonizing pain until it fades away. The doctors say this could be from laying in bed all day or the healing nature from my spinal tap procedure. I was approved to take a muscle relaxer every 8 hours for this excruciating pain that has seemed to help slightly.
I am still getting daily steroid shots in my abdomen and I am on new batches of liquid IV antibiotics every 4 hours whether I am sleeping or not.
I am having a few stomach aches and diarrhea from the combination of all the meds. The shot of antibiotics in the stomach always hurts and sends shooting pains through my limbs, but I’m making it work.
UPDATE #2:
My white blood cell counts are coming back to a normal level! There have been many discussions with the team of infectious disease doctors, but they have collectively decided that this all started as a blood infection that spread throughout my body and created pneumonia and a viral case of meningitis.
UPDATE 3:
I was pretty forcefully moved from original hospital room for some reason at 3am last night. Somehow one of my arm IVs opened and my arm was gushing blood all over the brand new white pillow and blanket my mom just bought for me.
I was originally very upset that people just entered into my room in the middle of the night and started packing and moving me, but after the move I have gotten used to the smaller room and am making it work with my family and girlfriend visits.
MOST RECENT UPDATE:
I’m getting off all oxygen machines completely (pretty soon!) I should be out of the hospital in only a matter of a few days now!!!!!! I’ll still need an IV picc line placed in my chest for another full week or two, but once Bailey and I learn how to clean it / change it / administer it at home by ourselves we should be fine. The team of doctors said I’m doing so much better and my blood results look exponentially better than when I first arrived here.
I’ve been really struggling to sleep at night with the looming anticipation of heading home. Nurses are constantly messing with my IVs and made the wrist one leak / bleed so bad it had to be removed. We then went to the inner elbow IV which opened again and bled all over my bed. The head nurse is saying that I must keep this arm perfectly still so I can ride out the rest of the antibiotic bags until I can get my chest IV put in to go home.
The heart doctor said there is no current need for a heart scope, but 1 out of 4 of my heart valves appeared to be a little ‘leaky’ and was letting blood back into the heart after it closed. He thinks this could be from all the stress and activity during this crazy time and is not super concerned. He wants to have a follow up appt every 6 months to check on it this valve.
BAILEY NOTE:
My AMAZING (cannot say this word enough) girlfriend, Bailey Grooms, has been my rock throughout all of this craziness and took complete care of me when I was in desperate need, so far away from home and my New Hampshire family.
Bailey spent countless hours cooking, cleaning, chatting, and just keeping me company when I needed it the most. She even sat down on the carpet by the foot of my bed and spent hours blowing a hair dryer over my legs and feet to heat me up from a cold chill.
The most powerful memory I have from this hell of a few weeks was when I was absolutely freezing cold and could not warm up for the life of me. Bailey sat right next to the bath tub and dumped cup after cup of hot water over my head in the shower. She managed to do all this while simultaneously cooking me a full thanksgiving meal that I unfortunately could only eat a few bites of.
Bailey cancelled her family thanksgiving plans to stay by my side in my apartment and take care of me. She has also just recently put a family Christmas vacation on hold and has taken multiple days off work (without pay) to be able help me out at a moments notice if I ever needed it (which I have, many times).
I do not honestly think I could have survived this crazy health episode without this amazing girl and she deserves such an incredible reward for her superior kindness and just the love she has shown to me which always seems to exceed my wildest imagination.
FINAL NOTE:
I have written all of this myself and in the first person, but the idea behind this page is from the hearts and minds my mom and aunt Jen and treating Bailey to a vacation she wholeheartedly deserves.
A lot of friends and family members have been asking how they could help support myself and all of Baileys sacrifices and we came up with this idea WHERE NO DONATIONS ARE EXPECTED FROM ANYONE AT ALL.
All funds that are generated / collected here will be used towards a vacation fund for Bailey and I to relax after Christmas break and just enjoy life to the fullest and celebrate such a crazy health scare that somehow ended safely.
Any left over funds from this much needed vacation will go to help my family with the at-home antibiotic costs and my trip in the ambulance which can add up I was told.
Thank you to all who took the time read this novel and have been in constant communication with me over text / messages / phone calls. Every single message / well wish / prayer has helped me immensely and I’m so proud to come from such a positive support system both in NH and my new life down here in FL.
My immediate plans are to rest up and heal before my pre-planned Christmas trip home flight on Thursday 12/17. I will not be returning to work until 1/04/2021 after I completely reset and decompress from all this craziness.
-Anthony Young
OVERALL NARRATIVE:
My symptoms started out Thursday 11/19 after a normal day of work. It all started out of no where and hit me like a train with a super strong headache and then this quickly made its way into hot flashes where I’d wake up in a literal puddle of sweat or get so cold that my bones and teeth would ache from shaking. I was exhausted all the time and could barely get out of bed the whole weekend. I had muscle and joint pain all over and was in a constant state of confusion / feeling very out of it all day and night long. I began to throw up everything I ate and drank for 2 full days.
I got my first rapid COVID test Friday 11/20 and it was negative (my roommate, roommates friend, and my girlfriend were all negative too from the rapid test #1). My fever finally spiked to 103 so I went to into the ER, the night of Monday 11/23 and got a PCR COVID test (came back negative 3 days later, this was COVID test #2) The ER nurses and doctors kept me there until around 1am when my fever dropped from 103 and told me just to alternate extra strength Tylenol and ibuprofen every other 4 hours and I’d be fine with fluids and rest.
I woke up Tuesday 11/24 feeling no different so I went and got a 2nd rapid COVID test (my 3rd COVID test overall). This came back negative for me and my girlfriend again. I still didn’t feel good at night so I called Teladoc on my moms insurance policy and only got prescribed a pill for nausea and vomiting. This doctor told me it was probably just COVID and I’d be fine in a few days if I rested and drank plenty fluids. The pills helped for a few days then the throw up was back along with constant diarrhea / severe stomach aches now.
I barely ate anything at all on thanksgiving day and my fever spiked at 103 again the morning of Friday 11/27. I went to the Orlando downtown hospital but there were 26 people in front of me and after 2 hours of waiting nothing changed. I decided to head home feeling what I thought was “slightly better”. I tried to eat a big dinner Friday night and could only get a few bites in before feeling sick to my stomach.
AGAIN, I felt terrible all night and the next morning. My fever once again climbed to the 103/104 mark. At the pleading advice of my terrified girlfriend, I went to the advent health ER Saturday 11/28 at around 3pm and got transferred via ambulance to the Advent East Orlando hospital at 10pm that Saturday night.
I have been in the hospital since this Saturday night. Within my stay here, they gave me a super painful spinal tap and found in my spinal fluid that I have pneumonia. I also have viral meningitis and I have an infection that originally started in my stomach that has spread throughout blood stream. No doctor has been able to figure out how I got this blood infection or why it hit me so hard when it did.
I have had X rays on my lungs that showed water (not supposed to be there) and a good amount of overall lung deflation.
The doctors are still thinking everything could point back to COVID, but after 5 total negative tests (2 rapid and 3 PCR) they were not able to give me the COVID steroid unless I had taken a positive test. I also tested negative for the COVID antibodies at the hospital. I was also tested negative for the common flu, but given a flu shot during my stay.
I have given more blood than I even knew my body could hold and I am running out of open veins for IV locations on both of my arms / wrist.
I’m on very heavy oxygen around the clock and am having a lot of trouble breathing still, I am also on heavy steroids, AND LOTS of IV antibiotics.
The doctors here are actively giving me ultrasound scans and x rays and trying to determine the root cause. They originally thought I might have a brain clot, but they have ruled that out and my brain appears completely healthy. The doctors were also afraid that I may have the blood infection spread into my heart valves, but with how much stronger and healthier I feel with each passing day, they have confidently ruled this out and stated that my heart is completely healthy as well.
My mom and aunt Jen flew down from New Hampshire on Tuesday 12/1 and will be staying in FL until this Sunday 12/12.
UPDATE 1:
I am breathing better still, but still having a lot of back / neck / shoulder spasms that really just make me sit in agonizing pain until it fades away. The doctors say this could be from laying in bed all day or the healing nature from my spinal tap procedure. I was approved to take a muscle relaxer every 8 hours for this excruciating pain that has seemed to help slightly.
I am still getting daily steroid shots in my abdomen and I am on new batches of liquid IV antibiotics every 4 hours whether I am sleeping or not.
I am having a few stomach aches and diarrhea from the combination of all the meds. The shot of antibiotics in the stomach always hurts and sends shooting pains through my limbs, but I’m making it work.
UPDATE #2:
My white blood cell counts are coming back to a normal level! There have been many discussions with the team of infectious disease doctors, but they have collectively decided that this all started as a blood infection that spread throughout my body and created pneumonia and a viral case of meningitis.
UPDATE 3:
I was pretty forcefully moved from original hospital room for some reason at 3am last night. Somehow one of my arm IVs opened and my arm was gushing blood all over the brand new white pillow and blanket my mom just bought for me.
I was originally very upset that people just entered into my room in the middle of the night and started packing and moving me, but after the move I have gotten used to the smaller room and am making it work with my family and girlfriend visits.
MOST RECENT UPDATE:
I’m getting off all oxygen machines completely (pretty soon!) I should be out of the hospital in only a matter of a few days now!!!!!! I’ll still need an IV picc line placed in my chest for another full week or two, but once Bailey and I learn how to clean it / change it / administer it at home by ourselves we should be fine. The team of doctors said I’m doing so much better and my blood results look exponentially better than when I first arrived here.
I’ve been really struggling to sleep at night with the looming anticipation of heading home. Nurses are constantly messing with my IVs and made the wrist one leak / bleed so bad it had to be removed. We then went to the inner elbow IV which opened again and bled all over my bed. The head nurse is saying that I must keep this arm perfectly still so I can ride out the rest of the antibiotic bags until I can get my chest IV put in to go home.
The heart doctor said there is no current need for a heart scope, but 1 out of 4 of my heart valves appeared to be a little ‘leaky’ and was letting blood back into the heart after it closed. He thinks this could be from all the stress and activity during this crazy time and is not super concerned. He wants to have a follow up appt every 6 months to check on it this valve.
BAILEY NOTE:
My AMAZING (cannot say this word enough) girlfriend, Bailey Grooms, has been my rock throughout all of this craziness and took complete care of me when I was in desperate need, so far away from home and my New Hampshire family.
Bailey spent countless hours cooking, cleaning, chatting, and just keeping me company when I needed it the most. She even sat down on the carpet by the foot of my bed and spent hours blowing a hair dryer over my legs and feet to heat me up from a cold chill.
The most powerful memory I have from this hell of a few weeks was when I was absolutely freezing cold and could not warm up for the life of me. Bailey sat right next to the bath tub and dumped cup after cup of hot water over my head in the shower. She managed to do all this while simultaneously cooking me a full thanksgiving meal that I unfortunately could only eat a few bites of.
Bailey cancelled her family thanksgiving plans to stay by my side in my apartment and take care of me. She has also just recently put a family Christmas vacation on hold and has taken multiple days off work (without pay) to be able help me out at a moments notice if I ever needed it (which I have, many times).
I do not honestly think I could have survived this crazy health episode without this amazing girl and she deserves such an incredible reward for her superior kindness and just the love she has shown to me which always seems to exceed my wildest imagination.
FINAL NOTE:
I have written all of this myself and in the first person, but the idea behind this page is from the hearts and minds my mom and aunt Jen and treating Bailey to a vacation she wholeheartedly deserves.
A lot of friends and family members have been asking how they could help support myself and all of Baileys sacrifices and we came up with this idea WHERE NO DONATIONS ARE EXPECTED FROM ANYONE AT ALL.
All funds that are generated / collected here will be used towards a vacation fund for Bailey and I to relax after Christmas break and just enjoy life to the fullest and celebrate such a crazy health scare that somehow ended safely.
Any left over funds from this much needed vacation will go to help my family with the at-home antibiotic costs and my trip in the ambulance which can add up I was told.
Thank you to all who took the time read this novel and have been in constant communication with me over text / messages / phone calls. Every single message / well wish / prayer has helped me immensely and I’m so proud to come from such a positive support system both in NH and my new life down here in FL.
My immediate plans are to rest up and heal before my pre-planned Christmas trip home flight on Thursday 12/17. I will not be returning to work until 1/04/2021 after I completely reset and decompress from all this craziness.
-Anthony Young