What happened to Mel?

 I have been struggling to find the words to share. Some of it is Covid brain and mostly I’m still processing all that occurred over the last month.  I decided to write to let you all know the details of what happened and how I ended up in the hospital. I want to do another blog post soon sharing all the ways God met me during this difficult time. I need time though.  This was a lot to endure both physically and emotionally.

The week leading to Easter Jonah came down with what we thought was a really bad cold after he tested negative for Covid. He had a really bad cough, sore throat, fatigue, and body aches. we isolated him.  Days later I began having the same symptoms except for me I couldn’t cough.  I have respiratory weakness and an inability to cough so this lead to me not breathing well.  On Easter I was feeling horrible and my oxygen was low. I had a terrible headache and couldn’t breathe well. We decided to go to the ER.  In the ER we were told I tested positive for Influenza A. They started me on meds and I began to feel a little better. I spent the night in the ER and asked to be discharged the next day. I felt like they weren't doing much that we couldn’t do ourselves at home.  Two days at home I started to get worse. It was really hard to breathe. I called my new cardiologist at UCLA. He did a telehealth visit and recommended we come in. He said he would call ahead to make sure they had a bed for us so that we could avoid going through the ER.  They put me in the Cardiac ICU unit. Lots of doctors flooded my room. The Cardiologist were concerned. My cardiac enzyme numbers were really high. I had fluid building up around my heart causing my feet to swell up like balloons. I couldn’t breathe well on my own and was choking on the phlegm I couldn’t get up on my own. They talked about intubating me if it got to that point and they also talked about the possibility of doing a tracheotomy. Praise Jesus it never came to that.  Pulmonologist and respiratory therapists were concerned. They tried putting a tube down my nose to suction. They came in and did breathing treatments every 3-4 hours. I had 26 heparin shots in my stomache to avoid blood clots. I had over forty blood draws and a host of grueling tests during my stay. I looked pretty bruised and battered.  I stayed on this floor for 11 days. I would take a step forward and then two steps back. One night I was in a ton of abdominal pain that caused my heart to go into tachycardia. It was scary as the doctors came in and stared at the monitor and at me and had meds on stand by.  I thought this was it. I was in so much pain and didn’t think I was gonna pull through this particular night. My heart stabilized on its own and I didn’t have another episode like that again. My oxygen was still low so they had me on oxygen and I was using my Bipap ventilator a lot during the day and night. Eventually I was just using it at night and slowly began to wean off of the oxygen.  It was an incredible saving grace to be discharged with no oxygen. 

I came home on breathing treatments and meds that I would take every four hours. It felt good to sleep in my own bed and to sit and feel the sunshine on my patio. This however would be short lived as Jonah came down with Covid the second day I was home. A wonderful family from church took him out of our home to stay with him but I still ended up getting Covid a few days later landing me back in the hospital for another five days. These five days were tough as I was in isolation and the first couple days alone without my husband. I begged and pleaded with them everyday to allow my husband to come. The Lord would answer that prayer and eventually Jason was allowed to stay with me. He had to suit up and could not leave the room. I was so thankful for him and all he did to care for his wife. The Covid team gave me meds and respiratory came in every 3-4 hours for treatment.  I was still struggling to breathe but as the Covid meds began to work my body responded well and I was able to come home again off of oxygen.  Praise Jesus!

Im currently off of all my breathing treatments and pretty much back to my baseline. This is huge and something I do not take for granted. Im very aware that this could have gone very differently. 

Im so so grateful. I can’t even put into words how thankful I’am for all of you who wrote messages, cards, emails, texts, meals, gifts,etc.  All of our needs were met because of you all. You made us feel seen and loved. Your prayers, scriptures, songs meant so much and helped us get through this valley.  Thank you for continuing to walk this road with us time and time again.  You show us what it means to be Christs hands and feet and you show us that there is purpose in the pain.  I have so much more to share and when my heart is ready it will come. Thank you for your patience with me.