Our Covid Journey...

Thank you for your prayers and sweet messages. Joe is fighting to stay on the heated High Flow. It breaks my heart to see him struggle for each breath. Praising God for Joe's strength and another day.

Thanking our Savior Jesus Christ and giving God all the glory and honor. What started out being a rough day for Joe ended up being a good day. As I stated in my last update it breaks my heart to see Joe struggle to take a breath. After church service God moved, a calmness came over Joe. He stopped watching his o2 stats. He was able to eat lunch and dinner as long as his o2 was above 85. I fed him like he was a toddler. He wouldn't take a bite unless his o2 was at 90 or above. He told the nurses I was his breathing coach. We watched NCIS (a family favorite). Blessed beyond measure.

While the nurse was working on Joe I stepped out for a break. Each room has glass doors and I could see in them. There are several patients on vents and one was crying so pitifully for someone to help her. My heart aches for these people. COVID is horrible. It hits people differently and you never know what it is going to be like until you have to deal with it face to face. My hearts go out to the medical employees who deal with it on the front lines. GOD BLESS YOU!!!!

Thank you for all of your prayers!!!! Please continue to pray. Good night.

Joe is off of the bipap. They did a scan on his lungs Praise God he has improved. They have some concerns the D Dime blood test results show blood clots. So they are coming to do scans on his arms and legs. The medicine that he inhaled to open up his airways did not work. They do not want him to go back on the bipap. There is no other meds they can use. They are hoping his lungs clearing up will improve his oxygen intake. They increased his steroids and blood thinners. Pray for lungs to improve more, increased oxygen intake, and no blood clots. Thanking Jesus for another day of healing.

I just got an update. Joe is teetering, he is not getting better and he is not getting worse. His o2 is at 100% and they cannot wean him. Even though the scans show his lungs are improving he is having a hard time breathing. The scans show a blood clot in his legs. I'm Praising God for not getting worse. We greatly appreciate your prayers and kind words.

According to Joe he had a rough night. He ran a fever and where the COVID is breaking up in his chest he coughed a lot. He was able to stay on the heated High Flow throughout the night. He had a hard time keeping his O2 over 85 but he did it.

Per the nurse...He had a great night, even though he ran a fever, he was able to cough up that COVID junk and stay off of the bipap.

Praising God for the progress of healing.

Joe is very alert and talking. He was able to eat breakfast.

Joe has been on the heated High Flow for 25 hours. He was having a hard time keeping his stats up so they are giving him a break and put him on the bipap. Praising God for the process of recovery.

Praise God, Joe had a stable night. He was able to stay on his belly for most of the night. His o2 stayed around 93.

Praise God!!!! Joe is having a good day today. A big difference in today from yesterday. He is running a fever but all the COVID junk is breaking up in his chest and nose. He has been off of the bipap since 11. We are Praising God for this blessing. He is on the Highflow and holding his own. He was able to stay awake the whole 4 hours I was there. I'm going try to get some sleep and stay with him all day tomorrow. The doctors were excited about the big change.

Praising God for Joe having a stable night on the bipap. Joe was able to have a sip of water.

Joe was able to stay on the nose canula for a while. He got tired so they put him back on the bipap for rest. Praising God for baby steps and another day. Also, praising God for texting. Joe just texted me that he loves me too. Blessed beyond measure.

I spoke with the doctor. Joe is still a high risk for incubation, BUT, Praise God he is having a great day. He is more alert, he is staying on his sides and belly. His heart looks great and there are no blood clots in his lungs.

I just spoke with the nurse Joe is still holding his own. Praising God for the him holding steady.

Praise God!! Joe's numbers remained stable last night on the bipap.

Please pray that he can get some rest. He is thirsty and hungry which is causing him to be aggravated. The nurse explained to me that if they remove the bipap to feed him they would have to wait 30 minutes after he eats due to risk of asperating.

We greatly appreciate everyone's prayers.

I spoke with the PA while I was visiting. Joe is staying steady on the bipap. As long as he stays steady he can stay off of the vent. Their concern is him wearing out from breathing on the bipap. If that happens he will be put on the vent. Praising God for steady numbers and extra time for our visit.

I just spoke with Joe's nurse. They tried stepping down from the bipap he did ok at first but he dropped down in the 70s. So they put him back on the bipap. When I was there they did an ultrasound on his legs to see if he had blood clots. Praising God for no blood clots.

Joe's numbers were steady last night so they didn't put him on the bipap. The doctor said he has hit a plateau. Praising God for the plateau. Thank you Jesus.

Please pray.... They are putting in a picline to allow potent medication to get in quicker. Joe's oxygen has been in the lower 80s and CO2 is building up in his blood. They are putting him on the bipap.

Thank you for your prayers. The pulmonary specialist came in and had a gas test done. The CO2 level is within normal range. His O2 is low and his lungs have gotten worse. They may step him up in the ICU unit. She said he looks good and most people are agitated on the bipap, but he is calm. Praise God!!!!

They moved Joe to ICU. Once they got him situated his oxygen increased. So far they have not had to put him on the vent. He has two nurses that tend to only him. They keep him turned and they remind him to take deep breaths. His nurses are Angie and Amber. Nurse Angie is on the voluptuous side. I bet she is a force to reckon with. I will only get to spend one hour a day with Joe. I was asked what were we going to do. My response...All we can do is turn Joe over to the Lord. We are going to praise God in the storm. Thank you again for all your prayers, and kind words. We are truly blessed.

Praise God!!!! Joe had a good night. They did not have to put him on the bipap machine last night and he rested well. Thank you Jesus!!!!

Joe's oxygen was increased to 60 liters. They had to put Joe on the bipap for a while. They will be checking around noon to see if they can give him a break. He is sleeping right now. He needs oxygen and sleep.

When I left Joe this evening he was ready to go to bed. He wanted to be put on the bipap for the night. He said it helped him sleep better. His oxygen levels are staying too low. Praising God He got us through another day. Thank you Jesus.

Please say a prayer for Joe. He is in the hospital with COVID Pneumonia. He had a rough night last night. They had to call in rapid response and they are preparing to transfer him to ICU. He started getting symptoms on Saturday. He made it to Marietta, GA. He was diagnosed on Tuesday and I brought him to the emergency hospital on Wednesday. We are Praising God because He brought Joe safely to an area with a good hospital. I am able to be with him from 9am to 8pm. We hate being away from our kids but we know God is in control and we have turned Joe completely over to Him.

There was no option.. She drove from Princeton, WV to Marietta, GA. Actually there were only two options: 1) we call an ambulance to take me to the hospital or 2) I get in the backseat of her car with a mask and she takes me to the hospital. Option 2 it was. I have never felt this bad.. so I thought... More to come. The ER immediately admitted me into the ER hospital. The following entries are from posts that my wife made to facebook to keep friends, family and supporters updated on my condition.

I called Ange and told her I was checking into a hotel. I needed a real bed and shower, etc. I told he I was tested and was positive. She said I needed to go to the ER. For one, I'm stubborn and two my truck would not fit into the hospital parking. She said she was on her way. I rented 2 rooms next to each other. Not a desirable hotel but to get my truck in somewhere wasn't an easy task. 

I wasn't feeling any better, in fact worse. I left the terminal in my tractor. I found an Ugent Care on my phone. Now my problem was parking. Then I saw a law office with one parking spot open. With some manuevering I could make it. I began walking around trying to find this urgent care. I could see the huge sign but it took me a while to actually find the place. I went in, was tested, given prescriptions and sent on my way. I was told the prescriptions would knock it out. Boy were they wrong. I stayed in my truck that night at the terminal after getting my meds. I notified my dispatcher what was happening so I didn't get put on a load and if something happened he knew my location.

Well, I made it to Marietta teminal. I called dispatch and informed them that the load needed to be t-Called (or relayed) to another driver that I was very sick. The person on the other end said, "We'll see what we can do". I replayed, "Let me rephrase that, the load is dropped at the terminal". I went to bed feeling real bad. I did not come in contact with anyone. I stayed in the truck. If it was Covid I didn't want to get someone else sick. Urgent care was closed and my truck would not fit at an ER. I went to bed. 

The day started out normal for a truck driver. Get up, get dressed, Diet Pepsi (I don't do coffee often), Pre-trip inspection and away we go. Everything was going normal.. UNTIL... I had to get fuel in Louisiana. I was out of rubber gloves. I fueled anyway, gloeless. I had followed all covid precautions up to this point. I didn't go inside at all. I activated the fuel pumps from my phone. When I needed a shower I did the same, activated from the phone. Never had to come in contact with anyone. I arrived in Orlando Florida and started to feel like I had a cold with a cough. Nothing out of the norm for me because I would get coughing spells normally. When I arrived at the customer I asked security if I could park in the parking lot to take a nap after I was unloaded. She approved. I woke up that evening to head to Leesburg, Floida, which was only about 35 miles away and I was really starting to feel bad.. More intense cough and fever. They got me loaded quickly. Off to Marietta, GA I go. It wasn't my destination but we had a terminal there.