6 months

I'm not really sure what to update on because the last month has become a fog, but I'll do my best to highlight the major stuff.

2 weeks ago today I woke up to an early phone call letting me know that Brian was being rushed to the ER with an elevated heart rate & respiratory rate, a fever, and a declining blood oxygen level and low blood pressure. 

As you can imagine, my worry overwhelmed me - praying for him to stabilize and praying that our ER visit would be attentive. Luckily, as soon as I got to the ER I found him in an observation room where doctors and nurses were constantly tending to him (thank god). He was fairly stable by the time I got there and they admitted him within a couple of hours. 

They diagnosed him with aspiration pneumonia & tracheitis (and at that point we believed he also had shingles).

On day 2 of his admission, the 'shingles' rash disappeared completely. Both swabs tested negative for it prior to the treatment, so now no one believes he had it at all (miracle).

Over the past 2 weeks, Brian responded really well to the antibiotics. Vitals stayed stable, with the exception of a few low blood pressure readings. White blood cell count dropped back down to 4. He was cleared to go back to rehab Friday, but just to be safe, the doctor chose to keep observe him for the weekend and discharge him Monday -- which was fine by me because I'd much rather be over cautious then end up back in the ER in a few days.

Monday came. Discharge began. They swabbed him for Covid (protocol for any discharge to another hospital)...test came back positive.

Impossible. Brian had Covid in Dec and is fully vaxed and tested negative upon arrival to the ER...and was not exhibiting any signs or indications of having a current infection of any kind. The man was breathing room air, zero IVs, just chillin'.  Immediately the nurse and I looked at eachother in disbelief, but soon after the hospital rules started to infiltrate. They shut the door, handed me a robe, gloves, goggles and every nurse tending to him changed too. We went from getting ready to leave, to a biohazard situation. They began to read me the rules - "we're moving him to the covid unit, you cannot visit him for 16-21 days, say goodbye now, we are starting the process to transfer him."

I'll be honest - I was so blindsided, my response was to sob uncontrollably. The nurse pep talked me and reassured me that it would be okay but she and I seriously didn't believe the test was true so I demanded they re-test him. Long story short - they agreed. I finally got a hold of the doctor and she also didn't have any reason to believe he had Covid (let's use logic people). So she ordered a rapid test. Negative. Thank the lord.

The hospital rules kicked back again - "even though he was negative on arrival and the rapid is negative, he still has a positive test in his chart so protocol is to move him to the covid unit."

Seriously? So we are going to put him at risk, someone with a TBI who needs an advocate, in isolation for the better half of a month, in a covid unit, even though its unlikely he has it, and has zero symptoms to treat?

No.

I stayed up until midnight on Monday arguing this with various people at the hospital, begging for another test to prove he's fine so this man can get back to rehab and not lose 2 more weeks laying in a hospital bed for no reason. They finally agreed to test again.

So he had 2 tests on Monday (one false positive, one rapid negative). Tuesday they tested him again, and it came back negative. Good to go then, right??! Wrong. Rehab hospital requires TWO negative PCR tests, and since one was a rapid test, they wanted one more. 

Dr and I both were pretty frustrated, so she ordered another one to happen at 5am Wednesday to get it out of the way early so he could leave by mid-day. Dr calls and results are negative (duh). But guess what? Rehab hospital says they needed to be 24hrs apart.

Gotta be kidding me. Doctors and nurses were just as irritated as I was. So they ordered ANOTHER test to happen at noon - low and behold it's negative and he's FINALLY cleared to go back to rehab, only to be given another covid test (because protocol) and I cannot see him for 24hrs while we wait for results....gee I wonder if they'll be negative 🙄...But all that matters is he's back at the rehab hospital and I'm taking a much needed self-care day to recharge the batteries.

On the health front - Brian is doing well. No more hypothermic temps (which I suspect was due to pnemonia), no more fever, and vitals are looking good. Cognitively, we are about the same. The illness has him sleepier and set him back a bit, but we know what he's capable of and we'll get him back there, and hopefully even more emerged SOON. That's been my biggest prayer - that the illnesses and hospital stays are behind us, and this next chapter holds nothing but progress and Brian's return to consciousness. It's become a very desperate and constant prayer of mine.

On another note, last Thursday I was invited to our state capital in Springfield, IL to speak at the press conference for changes to Scott's Law - a mandatory 'slow down and move over' law...the law that was violated by the driver that hit Brian on February 15th. I agreed to share our story because I think increased awareness about driving laws and what to do while passing emergency vehicles on the highway could prevent this tragedy from happening to other people...it could save lives. It could make it real for people. This kind of careless driving has caused us grief like no other. My funny, loving, supportive, best friend doesn't walk through the door every day to greet me. I can't tell him about my day or walk our dog together. He can't call to talk to his mom or dad, or jokingly make fun of his sister. He can't enjoy home cooked meals from my parents or talk sports with my brother. He isn't able to put on the uniform and protect others. He can't play ball with his god son...or go fishing...or hold me. He's been robbed of enjoying his life. We've been robbed of enjoying him and all the ways he lights up our lives. Let this be real enough for you to change your driving habits. 

I cannot stress it enough...when you get into your vehicle... Lay down your distractions, your hurry, your phone and focus on the road. Be respectful. Place more value on your life and the lives of motorists and first responders around you. Miss the exit, be 5 minutes late to work, listen to a song you don't like, text your friend back later... none of that matters at the expense of robbing someone of their independence and life, not to mention the heartache that ripple effects to family & friends. Lay it down. 

It is not just a courtesy to get over, it's the law. The bill, and our state, still has a long way to go to make proper changes to ensure safety and consequences are up to par, but this is a step in the right direction. It was an honor to speak on behalf of Brian, our family and friends, and the ISP. 

I've included a few links to view the speech and bill signing here:

Instagram Link:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSiXWIKj0fH/?fbclid=IwAR35bRuulaGr2x7xcPN9B7Oc3cLlrJ-1UbX8eoMPcASKluVuxdBxoxBPGhY

Facebook Link:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=626689361643948&notif_id=1629207111446770&notif_t=watch_follower_video&ref=notif

And here is a link to read more about Scott's Law:

https://www.isp.state.il.us/docs/1-163.pdf

Thank you for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers and for respecting the space needed the past couple of weeks while trying to cope, rest, and prepare for that speech. Here's to the next chapter, to progress, and to the next six months showing us even more healing and recovery than the first six.