Sandy’s brother Rick has been pretty sick lately. Since Sandy is his Medical POA, she’s been pretty busy these days as a result. Rick and Sandy are pretty close, keeping in touch several times a day, most days. Rick lives in Wisconsin Rapids in the Winter and in Bancroft, Wisconsin in the Summer at a campground.

Rick has had several falls recently, and his health has gotten a bit worse. He was hospitalized in Wisconsin Rapids on 02/24/2022, stayed overnight in the ER, but they had no beds for him, so he was transferred to UW Madison Hospital on 02/25/2022. We went to visit him on 02/26/2022 and he was on a ventilator. Sandy was able to see him, but due to visitation restrictions I had to stay in the waiting room. He didn’t wake up at all when we were there, but Sandy talked to him anyway.

They said he had problems breathing overnight, so they had to put him on the ventilator and tie his arms down to prevent him from pulling out the tubes. He has been diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis (often called rhabdo). It is a serious medical condition that can be fatal or result in permanent disability. Rhabdo occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood. These substances can damage the heart and kidneys and cause permanent disability or even death.

As of today, 2/27/2022, Sandy was told that he now has a partially-collapsed lung, which they found after doing a Chest CT, so they have adjusted his venilator accordingly. They have also run more tests, and as of today he does appear to be improving. They are expecting at least another five days or longer in the hospital before he may be well enough to be transferred to a rehab facility for further help, if he keeps improving.

They are testing him for MRSA and HIV today. He is already in isolation due to the rhabdo, so Sandy had to fully gown up in order to visit him. The Chest CT also showed no blood clots, so that’s good. They’ve also put in a feeding tube today. I will update this post as we learn more.

Monday, Feb. 28th, 2022 – Sandy reminded me that I forgot to mention the fact that Rick is also going to withdrawal from alcohol, so that’s another complication of his current condition. Today they confirmed Rick has tested positive for MRSA, and they did an MRI of his brain and stomach to check for damage from bacteria. They also did a Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE) today and he now has a feeding tube inserted. They will start giving him the regular meds he takes via his feeding tube as much as possible, and they are going to start weaning him off of the ventilator a little at a time.

Tuesday, March 1st, 2022 – They started weaning Rick off the ventilator today by shutting it off temporarily and they said he did very well breathing on his own. They will do this procedure a few more times before they take him off of the ventilator completely. The TEE test was delayed until today, and his nurse will call when those test results come back.

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022 – The results of the TEE test came back normal today, so that’s one good thing. They had also tried removing him from the ventilator temporarily today, to see how he does, but he had a very difficult time and couldn’t breathe on his own yet, so they had to put it back in.

Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 – Rick was completely taken off of the ventilator today and he is breathing on his own with a low dose of oxygen. He has some delirium and confusion and the doctor says this will last a few days. They did a bedside swallow study today and he is very sore from the ventilator tube and to get a better picture they will do a regular swallow study in X-Ray tomorrow. He still has the feeding tube in, but after the full swallow study tomorrow they will try to feed him by mouth with soft foods. Tomorrow is Rick’s birthday, by the way.

Friday, March 4th, 2022 – Rick’s nurse said he had a bit of a rough night and was very confused. But Sandy was able to talk to Rick on the phone today with his nurse’s help with the phone. She wished him a Happy Birthday and told him to cooperate with the nurses and doctors so he can get better and come home. He seemed pretty good on the phone and aware of what was going on when she talked to him.

Saturday, March 5th, 2022 – This morning we took a trip up to Rick’s apartment in Wisconsin Rapids to take care of some of his affairs while he’s in the hospital. Rick is doing better today, Sandy talked to him on the phone again while we were on our way up there. Rick said he wants to check himself out of the hospital, but Sandy set him straight and explained that he has been in bed this whole time and will probably need to go to rehab for a short time to get back to normal again. He said “I know…” and seemed to understand. The nurse told Sandy today that they’ll be moving him to a regular room and out of CCU in a few days, so that’s great news. Sandy stressed that to Rick as well. We met several of Rick’s friends today, on our trip: Jerry and his girlfriend Sandy, Tom, and another Sandy, who is the owner of the bar at Rick’s campground, Ponderosa Pines. Three Sandys and a Tom & Jerry…hmm… There’s a good joke in there somewhere. Jerry even bought us lunch at Ponderosa Pines. They’re all very nice, friendly, and very concerned about Rick’s health. He has a great support system up North, and we were glad to learn that.

Sunday, March 6th, 2022 – Rick’s doing better. He called Sandy three times today, on his own, from his hospital room phone. He even got up and used the bathroom several times. They’re going to move him to a regular room tomorrow. Things are looking up! Thanks to everyone for your well wishes, thoughts and prayers.

Monday, March 7th, 2022 – Rick slept through the night last night and had physical therapy today. His oxygen line was removed, so he’s no longer on oxygen at all. All other lines were removed as well, except for a PICC line, which will be used to administer antibiotics to treat the MRSA. His social worker said they are looking for a rehab or short-term nursing home facility that he can move to for about three weeks because he still has to take IV antibiotics for that long. A swallow study was also done today and he can now have soft food and he is on a low-carb diet. He lost 15 lbs so far during his hospital stay.

Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 – They removed Rick’s feed tube today, and he’s taking walks with a walker for physical therapy every day now. In one to three days he willl be transferred to Manor Care, a nursing home in Kenosha, for physical therapy and IV antibiotics. This will last approximately three weeks while he is still on the IV, then he will stay with us in Kenosha until he feels well enough to return home to Wisconsin Rapids.

Wednesday, March 9th – Rick will be transferred to ManorCare in Kenosha tomorrow afternoon for rehab and IV antibiotics. He’s getting better every day!