Gail Sumption

Welcome to  Gail's CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.

Gail developed COVID-19 symptoms on Monday, September 28, which a test later concluded to be positive. By the end of that first day, her symptoms became severe enough to become hospitalized and placed in the COVID-19 treatment ward at Sanford Canby Community Hospital. She immediately began receiving steroids and other therapeutic treatments for Pneumonia that has been caused by the COVID-19 virus. The caring team in Canby continued to help mom recover from the virus, however sleepless nights, due in part to extremely high fevers, began to take a toll and her overall health was deteriorating. On Friday, October 2, physicians in Canby began administering the anti-viral drug Remdesivir and also administered a Convalescent Plasma Therapy Treatment. Hopes were high that these two treatments combined would give mom's body the boost it needed to destroy the virus. At 12:30 am on Saturday, October 3, the physicians at Sanford Canby ordered that mom be airlifted to Sanford Sioux Falls as her fever became uncontrollable, hovering between 103 and 104, and they had to start providing supplemental oxygen during the evening.

At Sanford, control of Gail's fever and ensuring her oxygen saturation levels became priority one. By the morning of Sunday, October 4, the fevers that had been affecting her daily appeared to be under control, but the oxygen therapy continued at higher levels of concentration. Mom continues to struggle with her oxygen levels in her body as the virus continues to attack her lungs. As we set up this page, she is on high-flow humidified oxygen at 45L per minute, as well as nebulizer treatments every 4 hours. This is the last stage of oxygen therapy before ventilation will be necessary. We ask for your prayers and hope that by the grace of God, Gail is able to fight back and show COVID who is boss!

Many of you are probably also aware that Marlo also was diagnosed with COVID-19 after falling ill on Monday, September 21.  Dad was also hospitalized at Sanford Canby Community Hospital for a day and a half where he received a steroid treatment and therapeutics. As of the end of the day on October 4, dad was deemed recovered from COVID-19 by the Minnesota Department of Health. We ask that you please keep dad in your prayers as well, as even though he made it through the fight with COVID, he is still struggling with lingering effects from the virus. The added stress of mom's condition, as he tries to recover himself, has been a battle.

As you are likely aware, added to the complexity in this for all of us, is the inability to visit COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Our family completely understands why this is not possible, and that it risks all of us, our mom, and all the health care providers if we were to visit. We have been staying in touch with mom by phone and texts, but she at times is too weak to respond. If you see our family around town, please know that if these were normal times we most definitely be in Sioux Falls at mom's side through this right now, but these are not normal times. Mom and Dad are definitely at the top of our minds every minute of the day and  we hope that all who are willing, please lift our family in prayer during this time.