Our Family’s Terrifying Experience with SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant
Photo Credit: Froedtert
by Heather at The Basic Moms
Heather here – you may know me as the resident Cooking Queen here at The Basic Moms. But what you probably don’t know is that for the past two months, my family has been living an absolute nightmare. A nightmare that thankfully has a happy ending. I guess I should start at the beginning.
You Weren’t Vaccinated?
I feel like I need to preface this by saying that my husband and I are not “anti-vaxxers.” We were admittedly apprehensive about getting the COVID-19 vaccine as it was so new and we didn’t know what the long-term side effects could be from it. Another reason that we didn’t rush to get vaccinated when it became available was that when the original COVID made its way through our area, the people that were having the hardest time with it were the elderly or those that had underlying conditions. We didn’t fit in either of those boxes.
As the Delta Variant began to spread more and more, we began talking about getting the vaccine. After a few discussions about the pros and cons, we decided to get it. Oh, how I wish we would have made that decision sooner than we did. After looking at my work schedule, I saw that August 13th was going to be the first date that I would have off of work, but that our kids would be in school.
Photo Cred: Amazon
Good Intentions Are Not Enough
That was the date that our intentions were to get it. That all changed on August 6, 2021, when I started showing symptoms of COVID-19. Within 36 hours, my husband became symptomatic. Then within 72 hours of my initial onset, two of our three children were showing symptoms. Another day and a half later, the whole house had it.
On my husband’s day 7, his oxygen took a nosedive. I had done enough reading that I knew that it was a sign of ominous things to come. Within the hour of that 83 on our pulse oximeter, I was dropping him off at the Emergency Room. For two days, the doctors did everything possible to keep him off of the ventilator. About 48 hours after his admission to the ICU, that changed. Around 11:45 am on August 17th, I received a phone call from my husband’s nurse saying that they were going to have to intubate him. The next few days were what I would equate to the worst roller coaster ride ever.
The Day My World Stood Still
August 20th.
That is the day that will forever be burned in my memory. At noon on that fateful Friday, I received a phone call from the doctor. His words still bring tears to my eyes almost two months later. His words were so matter-of-fact that I couldn’t help but feel the waves of grief hitting me like a freight train.
“We would like your permission to place him on ECMO. Everything that we are throwing at him is being met with a negative result. If he doesn’t get approved for ECMO, he will not make it through the day.”
This was the moment that I had been dreading since I dropped him off at the hospital. I waited seven and a half hours to find out his fate. I finally called and spoke with the nurse when I had not heard from them. He had been approved for ECMO by the Cardiothoracic surgeon, but they felt he was not at that point of dire need anymore. Sometime during the two hours that the ICU staff waited for the consult, his oxygen stabilized with what they were doing for him. August 20th truly could have been the worst day of my life. Now it will forever be the day that I recognize as the day we received our miracle.
54 Days
Over the course of 54 days, we saw ups and downs. For quite a while, I didn’t think I would get to bring my husband home. He initially spent 24 days in the ICU, 21 of which he was hooked up to a ventilator in a medically induced coma. Those 24 days were followed by 20 days in a Long Term Acute Care Hospital as the doctors, nurses, and respiratory staff weaned him off of the high-flow oxygen as much as possible. Then the final stop before home was a 10-day stint in an Adult Rehabilitation Facility where he received extensive physical therapy and occupational therapy. We have now been home for nine days with home health continuing to provide occupational and physical therapy.
Delta Doesn’t Care Who You Are!
Something that I learned day in and day out during our time in the hospital is that Delta does not care one iota about who you are, how old you are, what pre-existing conditions you may or may not have, and it doesn’t care if it kills you.
Even as my husband started making slow and steady progress, I watched as other families were saying their final goodbyes to their loved ones. I watched as my niece lost her father to this same beast that tried to take my husband. I felt like a helpless bystander as so many people lost someone near and dear to them.
And then there are the heroes. Those amazing front-line workers that stare this ugly monster in the face day after day. They often feel like they are fighting a losing battle. I hope and pray they each know just how important they are and that every step they take during this COVID journey matters.
Prognosis
Unlike almost everyone that ends up on a ventilator with COVID, my husband made it. I am sure that each hospital’s survival rate may be a bit different. I was told the moment he went on the vent, he had a 1 in 12 chance of making it off. He truly is a walking, talking miracle.
He is still weak, but getting stronger every day. And he requires oxygen at night while he sleeps and occasionally while doing strenuous activity with therapy. His doctors are hopeful that his lungs will fully recover and that one day he will be “back to normal.” Until then, we will help him in any way he needs it. Ultimately, we are just thankful that he is here with us.
Vaccines Save Lives
Something that the Hospitalist in the ICU said to me that will forever stick with me is that my husband would not have ended up nearly as sick as he did, had he been vaccinated. Because his body had never been introduced to the virus, like it would have been with the vaccine, his body didn’t know what to do. The term I heard used a few times was Cytokine Storm.
The short of it is that his body didn’t know how to handle this new virus it had never seen, and so his immune system went haywire, and his body went into a super inflammation mode. This led to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome that nearly killed him.
This is sadly what is happening to too many people right now. The death toll of unvaccinated individuals from the Delta Variant is horrifying. So if you can do something that would prevent you from suffering the same fate as so many, wouldn’t you take that opportunity? And in case you are wondering, yes, I have already started the process of getting vaccinated against COVID-19. On October 25th, I will receive my second dose. And for those that might be asking, my husband will also be receiving the vaccine as soon as doctors feel that he can safely do so.
Photo Cred: NBC 29
We experienced a nightmare, and thankfully all of us lived to tell about it. So many are not that lucky. Stop for just a moment. Survey your life. Is what is in front of you something that you are okay with walking away from and never being a part of again? If you answered yes, then more power to you. If you answered no, my only advice to you is this: get the darn shot!!!
