Jacksonville, FL
Ronnie was the love of my life. We only had less than a year together and had only been married for 5 months. We thought we had the rest of our lives together.
I fully believe they made egregious errors in Ronnie's care that cost him his life.
He was refused treatment
“He was unable to hold anything down but Gatorade and a sip of water here and there.”
My husband and I both came down with Covid on 8/16/21. My symptoms were very minimal on 8/17 but Ronnie's were immediately a lot worse. Ronnie was very sick to his stomach while carrying a low-grade fever and having severe body aches. I phoned his doctors’ office but he was refused treatment and they told me to give him Pepto Bismol and Tylenol and I did. I received my positive test on 8/18. On 8/21 I took Ronnie to Urgent Care for the Covid test. Ronnie still was super weak, unable to eat without severe stomach issues. Ronnie was sent home and I continued to treat him at home. Daily he was unable to hold anything down but Gatorade and a sip of water here and there. On 8/24 we received Ronnie's positive test and we continued treating him at home. On 8/26 Ronnie's oxygen dropped to 76 and I called Rescue. He was struggling to breathe. He was rushed to Baptist North and around 11 pm that evening he was transferred to Baptist Downtown.
No chance to survive
On 8/27 Ronnie was diagnosed with Covid Pneumonia. On 8/28 All numbers were reported as good when I called. On 8/29 no one ever returned my calls. On 8/30 Ronnie was sitting in a chair on HFNC. On 8/31 he was taken off the Nose Cannula and placed on to Rebreather mask and was using a spirometer. During this time Ronnie was being treated with Antibiotics, oxygen therapy, and cough meds. On 9/3 I video chatted with Ronnie, he's doing very well. His oxygen levels had improved, and they were fitting him for masks to go home with Oxygen. On 9/5 Ronnie was still on HFNC getting 50 liters of oxygen and he began to struggle that night. He was then moved to ICU on 9/6 and put on a CPAP as his levels were not stable. The same day he was given Baricitinib. On 9/6 Ronnie wasn't doing well and his levels were dropping inconsistently. He was found to have air leaking in his chest from subcutaneous pneumonia. I received a phone call that Ronnie was no longer responding to the CPAP, I was told he had no chance to survive other than on a ventilator.
The care that cost him his life
“We only had less than a year together and had only been married for 5 months .”
I went to the hospital and talked to Ronnie on the phone by his ear through the glass. The Dr. said it was Ronnie's only chance to live. Ronnie agreed to go on a vent at that point. Indications on the report advised he could be taken out on Palliative Care but that was never shared with me. On 9/8 Ronnie's left lung collapsed however I was told they had fixed it and his levels were all good. Ronnie was taken off Baricitinib on this date as well. However, per the documentation, there was still air leaking in his chest. On 9/9 unable to see him, I called for an update and was told all his levels are good and they had added steroids. On 9/10 Ronnie's oxygen dropped and he had to be placed on his stomach but all levels returned to good.
On 9/11 All levels were reported as good. On 9/13 Ronnie's heart rate went up and he tried to wake up but was resedated 3- 4 times. I received a call on 9/16 that his levels were dropping, and they were unable to maintain or stabilize. His heart rate was very low, and he couldn't maintain blood pressure. I arrived at the hospital and met Ronnie's mom there, where we sat outside his room, not allowed in. The nurse said Ronnie’s vitals were not stable and he would go into cardiac arrest any minute and it would continue. At that point, we were asked if he coded, did we want him resuscitated however he would continue until he passed. I signed DNR and a few minutes later Ronnie went into Cardiac Arrest and passed. The nurse informed us Ronnie had lost 60 pounds while in the hospital. Ronnie suffered from Oxygen Toxicity, Subcutaneous Pneumonia, Malnutrition, Vent Dyssynchrony as well as Improper NG tube placement. Ronnie was the love of my life. We only had less than a year together and had only been married for 5 months. We thought we had the rest of our lives together. I fully believe they made egregious errors in Ronnie's care that cost him his life.
The Man He Was
I want it known that from day one Ronnie was Papa Ronnie to my grandkids and a father figure for my daughter. He was an amazing person who had a huge heart.
