I decided to start this thread about my son and his journey with Covid. Mostly because, should he die, I want to remember every bit of his passing, every moment of what could be his last days; or hopefully of his survival of this terrible virus.
At my age, 75, memory fades, and the details of the deaths of my other three infant sons, decades ago, are lost in the among all the other memories of the past. I don’t want this to happen again. Also, since we can visit him in the hospital, on the Covid ward, I am able to keep a photo journey as well which I will start this afternoon.
The beginning of this thread will be repetitive in some respects as I recall yesterday, although yesterday seems a lifetime ago. I would ask members to not respond argumentatively and make this thread a debate about vaccination. But I know it is a hopeless request.
So many people have become so disrespectful, lately, on SF, in regards to issues of COVID-19. Still, my need to record every second of what happens, and have it available to me, over rides my caution. Plus, many of us have lost friends and family to this virus. Many of our members have survived the virus.
Joey has Downs Syndrome and has many of the issues associated with it. The children’s hospital we picked him up from predicated he would live about six weeks. The adoption agency told us every baby deserves a home, not a nursing home. I fed him, every hour, with a syringe as he had no “suck” ability. He slept in a basket between us on the bed. He weighted four pounds.
He had open heart surgery when he was 9 months old. His heart was more holes than heart. After the surgery, his lungs collapsed, his kidneys failed, and he reached up and pulled out all the wires in his chest. He was a challenge and a fighter.
He health was always iffy. He survived several pneumonias. He had a stroke at age five and had to relearn how to walk, etc. He had multiple ear surgeries and after one surgery he was released from the hospital, the nurse gave him a tablespoon of pain med instead of a teaspoon, and when we went to take him out of his car seat-he had stopped breathing. Thank God for paramedics!!!
As he got older, his health improved. When Covid hit, with his poor lungs, he was kept home for months. He thought he had been “bad” and was being punished. I don’t think he ever truly understood he was being kept safe. Eventually, the sheltered workplaces closed, his roommates stayed home as well, and his understanding grew.
Then the vaccine came. Everyone in the groups homes that were owned by his particular provider were vaccinated. A couple months later the sheltered workshop opened. Everyone returned to work. Things have been fine for months. He was scheduled to return to working at his job, at a restaurant, soon.
Yesterday, at 4:30 am, he woke because the power when out at his house. It had been storming. He had a severe stomach ache, difficulty breathing, coughing, a fever. In the afternoon, he was fine. I talk to him on the phone every day. Every day he has been fine.
Yesterday, he mentioned his friend, from sheltered work shop, had been home with COVID for a week. She also has Downs Syndrome. He also mentioned another friend, a male, had Covid.
Due to his on-going medical issues, the paramedics were called. The paramedics called me for permission to treat, I am his legal guardian. His heart rate was too fast, he was having trouble breathing, a fever of 103 was noted. He had severe stomach pain, chest pain, trouble breathing. I told the paramedics he has been exposed to Covid.
He was rushed to the ER.
At my age, 75, memory fades, and the details of the deaths of my other three infant sons, decades ago, are lost in the among all the other memories of the past. I don’t want this to happen again. Also, since we can visit him in the hospital, on the Covid ward, I am able to keep a photo journey as well which I will start this afternoon.
The beginning of this thread will be repetitive in some respects as I recall yesterday, although yesterday seems a lifetime ago. I would ask members to not respond argumentatively and make this thread a debate about vaccination. But I know it is a hopeless request.
So many people have become so disrespectful, lately, on SF, in regards to issues of COVID-19. Still, my need to record every second of what happens, and have it available to me, over rides my caution. Plus, many of us have lost friends and family to this virus. Many of our members have survived the virus.
Joey has Downs Syndrome and has many of the issues associated with it. The children’s hospital we picked him up from predicated he would live about six weeks. The adoption agency told us every baby deserves a home, not a nursing home. I fed him, every hour, with a syringe as he had no “suck” ability. He slept in a basket between us on the bed. He weighted four pounds.
He had open heart surgery when he was 9 months old. His heart was more holes than heart. After the surgery, his lungs collapsed, his kidneys failed, and he reached up and pulled out all the wires in his chest. He was a challenge and a fighter.
He health was always iffy. He survived several pneumonias. He had a stroke at age five and had to relearn how to walk, etc. He had multiple ear surgeries and after one surgery he was released from the hospital, the nurse gave him a tablespoon of pain med instead of a teaspoon, and when we went to take him out of his car seat-he had stopped breathing. Thank God for paramedics!!!
As he got older, his health improved. When Covid hit, with his poor lungs, he was kept home for months. He thought he had been “bad” and was being punished. I don’t think he ever truly understood he was being kept safe. Eventually, the sheltered workplaces closed, his roommates stayed home as well, and his understanding grew.
Then the vaccine came. Everyone in the groups homes that were owned by his particular provider were vaccinated. A couple months later the sheltered workshop opened. Everyone returned to work. Things have been fine for months. He was scheduled to return to working at his job, at a restaurant, soon.
Yesterday, at 4:30 am, he woke because the power when out at his house. It had been storming. He had a severe stomach ache, difficulty breathing, coughing, a fever. In the afternoon, he was fine. I talk to him on the phone every day. Every day he has been fine.
Yesterday, he mentioned his friend, from sheltered work shop, had been home with COVID for a week. She also has Downs Syndrome. He also mentioned another friend, a male, had Covid.
Due to his on-going medical issues, the paramedics were called. The paramedics called me for permission to treat, I am his legal guardian. His heart rate was too fast, he was having trouble breathing, a fever of 103 was noted. He had severe stomach pain, chest pain, trouble breathing. I told the paramedics he has been exposed to Covid.
He was rushed to the ER.
. At six I start texting every phone number I have related to people who work at the group home. I find, on line, an email address for the director and send her an email. I text and call Joeys social worker-no one responds.
. We will be moving him to a Covid room. He has Covid, I ask. Yes, didn’t they tell you? Nope. Son leaves, calls work, and they decide he will work from home for 7 days before returning to the office. My son is fully vaccinated and has had Covid. It would be rare for him to get it, but why take a chance.
The nurse has given more information than he can understand. I tell him to remember he’s a man now. I tell him he has to do what the nurses and doctors say, I tell him to close his eyes, and the nurse will give him the shot. I tell him a few times 
.
. It hurts I think. It hurts so much that he is in the hospital with Covid. I never cry, never. My eyes fill with tears, water rolls down my face. It hurts so much.
