Reagan's Fight For Life!

So, I haven't posted a lot about what happened to cause Reagan, my daughter, to be hospitalized for 19 days and put on a ventilator for 10 of those days.

She hadn't been feeling well for a couple of weeks, but she kept pushing through, going to work (she's a pipefitter), trying to prepare for Christmas, and settling into their recently purchased home. She medicated with over-the-counter drugs, but she just continued to get worse.

On Thursday, December 29, she didn't go to work. Her husband went to check on her in the afternoon, and her breathing didn't sound good. He took her to urgent care, and they called an ambulance. She was rushed to the hospital.

They said she had COVID, pneumonia with a secondary bacterial pneumonia, and a possible MRSA virus. Her blood oxygen was low, and they started her on oxygen and fluids. The nasal cannula was of no help, so the high flow was used. They admitted her to ICU. I put out a post asking for help in a group I joined after losing Larry in March 2021. Soon after, people were messaging, texting, and calling. Doctors, nurses, and advocates from all across the U.S. were coming together to help.

The following morning, the lab tech had much difficulty drawing blood. Her blood was so thick, and her veins were so small. It was tough watching them repeatedly stick her to no avail. One of the doctors I was communicating with said I needed to let the hospital doctor do a PICC line because they had to get blood to know what all was going on, so we allowed it. Needless to say, I don't trust hospital doctors anymore, so I was refusing everything they wanted to do.

They said we had to leave the room while they did the PICC line, so we walked outside. When we were allowed back in, not only had they done the PICC line, but they also ventilated her, saying they had to, or she would've died. The doctor wasn't offering any hope for survival, even though he made it seem he had to ventilate for survival. He said her mortality is high; spend some time with her. From that point forward, I refused to leave her alone.

If I wasn't in with her, a family member would be. This was the first thing I witnessed as God making a way where there didn't seem to be one. This was ICU, and there were very specific visiting hours and rules, but we stayed 24/7 the whole time she was in ICU, from December 30th to January 11th. A precious advocate from Wyoming contacted me and told me to massage a solution into her belly/naval area, so I got it brought to me and immediately started saturating her with it. Her inflammatory markers began to decrease very quickly.

I refused Remdesivir/Veklury, Baricitinib/Oluminant, the protocol drugs that have led so many to organ failure and death. Needless to say, the hospital doctor wasn't happy about that. He had actually given two doses of Barcitinib before I realized it. I didn't realize it was called Oluminant until this point. I told them not to give her that again, but I was concerned they would anyway, so three of the advocates helping me and I called and told the nurse in charge to mark her chart and DO NOT GIVE THAT MEDICATION AGAIN!

When the doctor came in the next morning and found out we did that, he was pissed. How dare we go against his orders. He felt it best we find another hospital to transfer her to. I was already working toward that, so I said that's fine. I had requested certain meds be given that he refused, as he "only follows the science." He said she wouldn't make it during a transfer, but that was our choice. He asked if I wanted to speak to the chief of staff, as he had already spoken to him concerning our dissatisfaction with her care. In that meeting, I was told basically the same thing by the chief of staff that the doctor had said. I listened.

When he stopped talking, I said I have a question for you. If that was you or your child lying in that bed with a doctor telling you she is going to die and you are requesting meds that you know have worked for others in these situations, only to have the doctor say he's throwing everything but the kitchen sink at her, but he's not, he's refusing meds you are requesting. Would you or would you not want them to try everything you are requesting to save you or your child's life?

He never responded to that question. Just that I needed to find a doctor/hospital willing to take her. I said that's fine. I already have one in Houston that will have a plane sent to get her. Then he says she'll never make it. After this meeting, her nurse told me, don't you stop advocating for your daughter, we aren't going to stop treating her. I knew I had to treat her myself if she were going to get out of there alive. She was paralyzed, on a ventilator, and I was scared.

They were giving antibiotics and steroids, which were two things she needed. Between those, the miracle solution, lots of prayers, and worship, some improvement was notable. There were people working around the clock to comb over every detail in her records to find the best way to direct how I could care for her. Another hospital, only an hour's flight away, agreed to take her. I wanted her transferred out, but her husband, brother, and sisters did not want her moved. It was either do it anyway and risk losing my whole family if something happened to her on the way, or stay, do everything I could do where she was, and believe God will bring her through.

I couldn't bear the thought of losing her, but to lose my whole family. I may as well be dead. The torment of these days was hell. The doctors were baffled to see her improvements but never asked anything. We got a new doctor the day after the meeting with the chief of staff, so I again requested the meds she needed, only to start all over again with "I only follow the science." He looked me in the eyes and said, "you know she's going to die." I said, "no sir, she's not. Not on my watch!" A few days after that, as her bloodwork continued to improve, a nurse came in and said, "I'm advocating for your daughter, she's coming off this ventilator today! The doctor wanted to wait another day or two, but the nurse was adamant that she had a small window of time, and it had to be done that day! I believe it was because that first doctor was coming back the next day, and she knew he wouldn't get her off of it. I'm forever grateful for God putting her in place that day!!! It took about 3 days for Reagan to really wake up. The asinine doctor was not happy we were still there, nor that she had improved. He took her off antibiotics even though her white blood cell count was still elevated. Fortunately, the internal med doctor from the floor we would be moved to came in and put her back on them. After waking up, I could now get more much-needed medicine into her. Everything needed to really treat her and the storm going on inside

her was sent to me, and I gave it. She was about to be moved from ICU to a regular room. She had been weaned off 12 IV lines of BP meds, pressers, paralytic drugs, fentanyl, morphine, etc... so much, I'd have to look back at records to list them all. There were only two lines now, the antibiotics and 1.3 mg propofol. The nurse came in to hang another bag of propofol, and she set it to dispense at 75.8 mg. I didn't notice until she left the room, and Reagan's head fell to one side. I hollered for the nurse and asked why she had set it so high. She started decreasing it to the 1.3. It took us 20-30 minutes to get Reagan to come around. I thanked God for allowing me to be there as no one would've noticed until they came back around, which would have probably been too late.

We got out of ICU, and I was relieved to be able to treat her more freely, as no one came in very often. The people we did see were shocked she was sitting up, getting around the room, and not requiring oxygen. After being lied to by the pulmonologist and no physical therapy coming to do anything, we were ready to just get home. There was nothing being done there that I couldn't do at home. The only real fear at that point was I couldn't monitor blood work or do X-rays. But I knew what I was being directed to do for her was working, and she was definitely improving. We've been home since January 16th. She's still improving!

So many were involved in answering my cries for help, contacting those who could, and the professionals who risked and lost everything to save lives instead of buying into the protocols that have killed many thousands of people, including my husband, Larry Andrews. It's because of his death that Reagan's life could be saved. God joined me with so many wonderful people who went to extensive lengths to make sure my daughter would live and not die!!!

I'm forever grateful and thankful for each and every one.