My dad was admitted after 10 days sick at home and one failed ED visit (at a different hospital). He tested positive for COVID-19 the day after he was admitted. Since my dad as normally an active 80-year-old, my family was devastated with this diagnosis and very worried that we had seen his "soul" get sucked out from him, have no energy to eat or answer questions and cognitively not be able to problem solve through usually simple tasks. Having a small, close family and me, being an occupational therapist at another local hospital, we struggled that we were unable to stay/visit while he was admitted to the hospital to help him through this.
Although this pandemic is obviously new to all of us and the way we typically provide care to our patients and families, I did not expect it took upwards of 3 hours a day calling, waiting on hold, waiting for a call back to get about 5-10 minutes of information. Talking to my dad to get information was difficult due to his confusion and fatigue, but we were able to chat with him on the phone occasionally. There were varying levels of communication with us via physicians - much better from his primary care group. WE never got a phone call from an ICU doctor during his 3 days in the ICU. On my dad's 81st birthday he was transferred to the ICU. I received a call at 2 am notifying me of the transfer due to increased oxygen needs and the possible need for intubation. With no updates from the MD and an inability to reach his day nurse, I was about to freak out until I received a call from Tara. Other than the 2 am transfer call, Tara was the ONLY nurse during the ENTIRE 2 weeks who initiated phone contact with us to update me on the plan for her shift and to let me know how my dad was doing. She also spent extra time with my dad doing ADLs, cleaning dishes from the food we were able to deliver during the previous week, helping order food and encouraging eating on each of her shifts, AND helping FaceTime (her idea) where she helped my dad answer his phone for our 1st and only FaceTime call for his birthday. I cannot thank her enough or express how much it meant to know someone was taking a little extra time with my dad and didn't either assume he knew how to operate his phone or remote or write him off because he was "old". It truly meant a lot for me to be able to see my dad after so long.
My dad was not a typical 80-year-old before COVID, and now he is an amazingly strong and a mighty 81 year old recovering from COVID! He is off his oxygen, walking 2.5 miles a day and up to 10 pushups a day! We thought Tara might like to see how far he has come! Thank you Tara for truly enjoying your job and doing a little extra even during a crazy time with lots of very sick patients and very worried families. Just a little extra care goes a long way! We are so thankful for all the people that helped save my dad's life and are blessed to have him home!