A personal Covid Experience

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Thanks for those pics of the space helmet, helps me to visualize. So glad Jeffrey continues to improve. Alan, encourage him to eat things like yogurt to help him heal.
 
Alan said:
Another FaceTime session this morning with Jeffrey. He spent the night on the CPAP machine in the space helmet but feels he won’t need it during the day. All very encouraging.

He says they want him to eat yogurt this morning for breakfast and even though he doesn’t normally like it we told him to do as he is told as the powerful antibiotics he has been on to combat the secondary infection will have devastated his gut bacteria.
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Such wonderful news!!! YAY!!! So thankful for his positive progress!

The risk of developing c-diff from the antibiotics is a real concern, especially in a hospital setting. He needs to take extra care with washing his hands (assuming they give him some kind of hand wipe) or at least avoiding putting his hands in/near his mouth. Those bugs hang out in hospital settings. Anything he can do to help prevent that is really important.
 
audreyh1 said:
Surely they also have pharmaceutical grade probiotics to help reestablish the gut flora.
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Agree. You may want to ask them if Florastor is safe to start yet. It is a yeast type of probiotic (vs the standard bacterial types of probiotics) and is not killed by antibiotics. There is some evidence that it may help prevent c-diff by not allowing the drug-resistant c-diff bacteria to take hold of a wiped-out gut microbiome. And, there is some evidence that it can support recovery from c-diff, too. I have links with research on this in a file somewhere if you are interested in learning more. I had to deal with it when I was in active treatment for my cancer.

However, there have been some very rare cases of yeast infections of IV lines in immunocompromised patients, so you would absolutely want medical clearance in this situation!!!
 
Yogurt is good! Kefir and/or kombucha are even more flora-rich. Perhaps when he gets home. He may have to hold his nose and swallow especially if he doesn't like yogurt.

Dad had c-diff and it was tough. We started feeding him yogurt and pill-based probiotics and it really helped get him out of it.

Best to prevent if possible, and it sounds like the staff there are well aware and giving him the right foods. That's great to hear!
 
DanActive probiotic drink (very tasty! I dislike yogurt and drinking these was super easy for me. Sweet and down the hatch quickly, lol) has some evidence behind it for helping to prevent c-diff. The protocol is to drink two daily.

Here's one recent study (albeit small) focused on using it in the ICU. There are more (again, I have additional research if interested).
 
So glad folks are providing info about probiotics. I've read enough about c-diff to scare me - right here on this site, actually. Florastor, Culturelle, yogurt ... well worth researching. I've been on Clindamycin and my pharmacist and dentist stressed the use of probiotics at that time.
 
I've had c-diff. Believe me, you don't want it. It's horrible and very hard to cure. I would or drink anything they give me to keep from getting it.
 
Just heard from him and he is going back on a feeding tube. He can’t keep enough food down, still nausea and vomiting plaguing him. He is also on the CPAP machine again during the day. It is just so heart wrenching to witness this as he was bright and breezy on FaceTime early this morning.
 
Alan said:
Just heard from him and he is going back on a feeding tube. He can’t keep enough food down, still nausea and vomiting plaguing him. He is also on the CPAP machine again during the day. It is just so heart wrenching to witness this as he was bright and breezy on FaceTime early this morning.
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Aww...darn it anyway! I know he hates it but the body’s gotta have fuel to fight this off! He can do it!!

Thinking about you often...
 
I just checked this thread again after an absence. Joined with a brief prayer at 10 am. Hoping for good news!
 
Alan said:
Just heard from him and he is going back on a feeding tube. He can’t keep enough food down, still nausea and vomiting plaguing him. He is also on the CPAP machine again during the day. It is just so heart wrenching to witness this as he was bright and breezy on FaceTime early this morning.
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I guess it’s the expected ups and downs!

Wishing you all the best!
 
Darn it, Covid hits you in so many ways...


Prayers for continued healing...It must be so hard on him not to have his parents with him saying words of encouragement or holding his hand.
 
Thanks again to everyone, I joined you in prayer again at 10am EST.

Just talked to one of the critical care doctors treating him. She told us he is making progress albeit very slowly. He was currently sitting a chair, first time, and it will be tiring him out. He is spending more time during the day off the CPAP machine although the oxygen level going into the nose canular is quite high.
 
Alan said:
Thanks again to everyone, I joined you in prayer again at 10am EST.

Just talked to one of the critical care doctors treating him. She told us he is making progress albeit very slowly. He was currently sitting a chair, first time, and it will be tiring him out. He is spending more time during the day off the CPAP machine although the oxygen level going into the nose canular is quite high.
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If only his stomach would start feeling better...IV and feeding tubes keep you alive but eating would be so much better..
 
Keep your spirits up, the ups and downs of this illness can be frustrating.
It does sound that he is continuing to improve bit by bit.
Keeping your family in my prayers.
Take care.
 
Continuing to pray, what a roller coaster. I don't think I realized that Covid could make a person so sick on their stomach. It is a sneaky virus that affects so many parts of the body.
 
harllee said:
Continuing to pray, what a roller coaster. I don't think I realized that Covid could make a person so sick on their stomach. It is a sneaky virus that affects so many parts of the body.
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Definitely hoping that OP's son pulls through this with minimal effects. I just recovered from Covid myself. Had the mild version but it was still tough to deal with muscle aches, sporadic coughing and lack of appetite. My kids didn't have the same symptoms but still have not recovered their sense of smell. My wife is fully vaccinated so she was not affected. I was surprised how contagious the virus is.
 
Alan, your family remains in my thoughts. So grateful that he is off the vent.
 
Alan said:
Just heard from him and he is going back on a feeding tube. He can’t keep enough food down, still nausea and vomiting plaguing him. He is also on the CPAP machine again during the day. It is just so heart wrenching to witness this as he was bright and breezy on FaceTime early this morning.
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Ugh. Poor Jeffrey! Continuing to send healing energy and virtual hugs to you guys.
 
As a parent, it is worse seeing your child suffer than if it were you. He is improving, although it can't be soon enough. I will continue to keep him in my prayers.
 
He sat in a chair for 2 hours today. Only on CPAP an hour at a time now, including overnight. He texted at 4am my time asking advice on downloading podcasts and such and we chatted for an hour, at which point I told him that it was 9am in LA so I was transferring him to our US help desk (his sister). We had taken his good headphones into the hospital for him at 7:30 last night. He is now going to be moved back to the regular Covid ward later today.

It's all good news.
 
Wonderful news!!!! So grateful he continues to progress!
 
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