Welcome to Pete's CaringBridge website. The purpose of this site is to keep family and friends updated in one place and minimize back-and-forth messaging. The LanFrancas deeply appreciate your prayers and words of hope and encouragement, so feel free to leave comments. I’ll do my best to keep you updated. Here is my dad’s story, which I’m writing on September 10, 2020:
On August 8th, my mom and dad, Pete & Susie, and my aunt flew to Lake Tahoe for an end-of-summer vacation. Two days after their arrival, Pete started feeling sick. On Tuesday, August 11th, he visited an emergency pulmonology clinic, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and given antibiotics. On Wednesday, August 12th, he received notice that he also had Covid-19. Pete's symptoms included fever, a loss of appetite, and chronic coughing. He was advised to remain at in their vacation rental unless his fever spiked or he felt significantly worse. He followed instructions (longer than we wanted him to!) but finally went back to the doctor and was admitted into the regional Lake Tahoe hospital on Sunday, August 16th. Later that same day, he was transferred to Renown Hospital in Reno, NV for more comprehensive care. Susie and my aunt also tested positive for Covid but had minimal symptoms.
When he was first admitted to Renown, the doctor found that his oxygen levels were extremely low and that his lungs were struggling because of the region's high altitude. The team’s first step was to place Pete on a nasal cannula to receive oxygen. He was given additional antibiotics as well as a round of an experimental drug called Redemsivir. His fever broke, but he continued to have difficulty with his lungs. At this point, his spirits were low but he could still talk and text with family. On August 26th, after further decline, he was placed on a BiPAP machine to help him breathe. This prevented him from talking, as he was in the mask for 23 hours/day.
The improvement with the BiPAP wasn’t significant enough, so on Saturday, August 29th, it was determined that he needed to be on a full ventilator. Throughout his time in the hospital, the staff has been "proning" Pete for 14-16 hours per day. This involves resting him onto his stomach so that his lungs can more fully receive oxygen. Other treatments have included additional antibiotics, two rounds of steroids, and a round of convalescent plasma (i.e. plasma from someone who has recovered from Covid-19.)
Pete’s vital organs were functioning well for the first few days he was on the ventilator, but on Friday, September 4th, the doctor noticed a decrease in kidney function. Since then, Pete has been regularly receiving dialysis. On average, they are removing about three liters of fluid each time they dialyze him. While he was pharmaceutically paralyzed when he first went on the ventilator, he is now just heavily sedated. His team has tried to reduce his level of sedation in order to better test his levels of cognitive functioning, receiving mixed results so far.
The key measures his team reviewing to estimate recovery are: 1) % of Oxygen from the ventilator. The highest it goes is 100% (which he has often required.) The lowest he’s been at while on the ventilator is 70%. 2) Pressure from the ventilator. The highest it goes is 16, and the goal is for him to be at an 8. The best he’s been at so far is 12. 3) Creatine levels from kidneys. This is the quality of fluids his body is releasing, indicating how well his kidneys are able to filter out toxins. A higher level means there are more toxins in his system. At this point, the doctors are not happy with the levels they are seeing on this front. 4) Urine produced by kidneys. While this was stable at first, during the last few days, he has no longer been producing urine on his own. 5) Heart rate. We’ve seen variation in this area, as proning Pete often results in a bump in his heart rate. 6) Responsiveness to cognitive tests. Again, this has been a mixed bag. At this point, we don’t know how much influence the sedation is having on his responsiveness.
We continue to hope for a miracle for my dad. More than anything, we wish we could be by his side to hold his hand, pray with him, and just give him love during this scary time. Unfortunately, the hospital restricts visits to Covid-19 patients. It’s been heartbreaking for all of us. I’ll keep you posted on changes, as I am able. Thank you for all of your prayers, phone calls, texts, and notes as we manage this as a family.
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