Troy Bagwell is one of the funniest, most generous, considerate, and caring people on this planet. He is a loving husband, amazing father, and loyal friend. Troy would do anything to help anyone, friend or stranger. Troy began having covid symptoms on September 28, 2020. He got tested the next day and received positive results on October 2nd. His illness got progressively worse with symptoms of cough, fever, headache and body aches. When his oxygen saturation dropped into the 70s he was transported by ambulance to WakeMed in Raleigh. He was admitted into the ICU and given high-flow oxygen. Troy had to lay on his belly for 4 days to help oxygen get to his lungs. He was able to send very brief text messages using one hand, but most of the time he was too tired from simply trying to breathe. Troy had a few good days mixed in when he was able to sit upright in a chair for several hours at a time, and one day he stood up for almost 5 minutes. After being there for 12 days with no visitors and little improvement, Troy's body was extremely tired. His team of doctors decided the ventilator was the best way to let his body rest and let the machine do the work. He didn't improve on the ventilator as hoped so the team decided that ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) was the next step. This treatment uses a pump to circulate blood through a machine that adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide before pumping it back into the body. This process allows the heart and lungs to rest and heal. Troy started ECMO at WakeMed and was then transported to UNC-Chapel Hill to continue treatment.
