As we are starting this caring bridge site to keep our loved ones informed, some may not know the history of how mom has gotten to where she is currently, we will do our best to give a brief update.
Mom started getting sick with COVID symptoms right around her birthday on September 15th. We assumed it was COVID as multiple members of the family had also been sick. It was confirmed that she also was at the point of pneumonia. Once a chest x-ray was done they started medications and an inhaler to help get her over the hump. Mom continued to be more and more tired and weak and it was getting concerning. We brought her back into the ER and they admitted her to Hegg Health Center on September 28th. In the meantime her oxygen needs began to increase and she was transferred to Mckennan’s ICU in Sioux Falls on September 28th on BiPAP. After being in the ICU for a little while she had seemed to be ready to move to the pulmonary floor on October 3rd. Once on the pulmonary floor she was on a Bipap, cpap, and a nasal cannula trying to figure out her needs for oxygen and different medications to keep her steady. During this time Mom had seemed to be confused and disoriented but this went up and down. She was incredibly weak. Due to COVID restrictions this time was challenging as we hadn’t been able to see her or talk to her often and we were unsure where mom was at compared to her baseline self. On October 8th they had called us early in the morning to let us know that mom had declined during the night and was intubated and on a ventilator back in the ICU. Our biggest concern was that she had a pulmonary embolism, which is the blood clot in her lungs, as we had found multiple clots in her legs and one in her arm. This is being managed by a blood thinning drip to prevent more clots from forming. It had been very touch and go since then, and continues to be. We decided this was the easiest way to keep everyone informed and to make sure mom had as many people as possible praying for her.
