As critically ill, elderly patients streamed into his emergency room outside Seattle,
Dr. Ryan Padgett quickly came to understand how deadly COVID-19 could be.
Of the first two dozen or so he saw, not a single one survived.
It took longer for Padgett and his colleagues at EvergreenHealth Medical Center —
the first hospital in the country to treat multiple coronavirus patients — to learn
how easily the disease could spread through the Skagit Valley Chorale members.
At first, the medical workers wore only surgical masks and gloves.
Later, they were told to wear respirators and other gear, but the equipment was unfamiliar
and Padgett couldn’t be certain he put it on and took it off correctly each time.
“This is a movie-like save, it doesn’t happen in the real world often,” Padgett said.
“I was just a fortunate recipient of people who said, ‘We are not done.
We are going to go into an experimental realm to try and save your life.’”
Once his colleagues at EvergreenHealth realized they had run out of options, they called Swedish Medical Center, one of two Seattle hospitals that has a machine known as an ECMO, which replaces the functions of
the heart and lungs. But even after the hospital admitted him, doctors there had to figure out
why he was so profoundly sick.
Based on the astronomical level of inflammation in his body and reports written by Chinese and Italian physicians who had treated the sickest COVID-19 patients, the doctors came to believe that it was not the disease itself killing him but his own immune system. It had gone haywire and began to attack itself —
a syndrome known as a “cytokine storm.” The immune system normally uses proteins called cytokines as weapons in fighting a disease. For unknown reasons in some COVID-19 patients, the immune system first fails to respond quickly enough and then floods the body with cytokines, destroying blood vessels and filling the lungs with fluid. The doctors tried a drug called Actemra, which was designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis,
but also, approved in 2017 to treat cytokine storms in cancer patients.
Emergency room doctor, near death with coronavirus, saved with experimental treatment
April 3, 2020 “Our role was to quiet the storm,” said Dr. Samuel Youssef, a cardiac surgeon.
“Dr. Padgett was able to clear the virus” once his immune system was back in balance.
Dr. Matt Hartman, a cardiologist, said that after four days on the immunosuppressive drug, supplemented
by high-dose vitamin C and other therapies, the level of oxygen in Padgett’s blood improved dramatically.
On March 23, doctors were able to take him off life support. Four days later, they removed his breathing tube. He slowly came out of his sedated coma, at first imagining that he was in the top floor of the
Space Needle converted to a COVID ward.
He soon became more conscious of his surroundings and had a FaceTime conversation with family members, who hadn’t been able to visit because of the hospital’s coronavirus lockdown. “It’s an incredible thing to survive a brush with death and not be able to see and be with your most loved people,” Padgett said. “And when everyone on staff who comes to see you has to be in a spacesuit, you just feel like this pariah. The isolation was pretty devastating at times.” On March 31, balloons, gifts and letters came in the door. It was his 45th birthday. “My birthday cake was an ice chip,” he said, recalling how grateful he was for his first sustenance by mouth.
As Padgett got to know Youssef, Hartman and other team members, they told him about
a 33-year-old woman — a mother of three — who was in the hospital as well, also having experienced a cytokine storm. He saw the team’s excitement when they tried the approach on her, and she too recovered. Padgett went home on April 5. He said Monday that he faced a long, slow recovery, physically and cognitively. He expects to be a better doctor, reminded how devastating an illness can be to a patient and a family. Returning to the ER won’t be easy, he said. “But that’s my home, that’s what I do,” he said. “I enjoy that everyone-in-the-foxhole mentality. And one day before then, Padgett and his fiancee, Connie Kinsley, plan to have Had a small
wedding ceremony with a few friends on their boat moored on a Seattle lake.
First case of Coronavirus in the U.S. confirmed in Washington!!!
Read More: Which doctor at Providence Hospital treated the first coronavirus patient in Seattle?
How Remdesivir, New Hope for Covid-19 Patients, Was Resurrected?
https://khn.org/news/covid19-drug-treatment-trial-remdesivir/
https://www.livescience.com/first-case-coronavirus-found.html
LIVE Q&A: Seattle doctor discusses coronavirus after first US case confirmed in Everett.
Doctor fired after criticizing his hospital for coronavirus response?
Coronavirus in the United States:
Bing COVID-19 Report: L.A. continues to avoid worst of it
Douglas A. McIntyre
According to the Bing Covid-19 Tracker, global COVID-19 cases have reached 3,428,422.
Active cases hit 2,091,402, a surge of 45,262. Recovered cases moved to 1,093,189, up 36,863.
Deaths reached 243,831
Total confirmed cases in the U.S. hit 1,158,536, 34% of the world’s total. Active COVID-19 cases
reached 939,967, an increase of 18,246. Recovered cases were 151,502, higher by 9,796.
Fatal cases in American hit 67,067, 28% of the world’s total, a jump of 1,462.
In a sign that the disease is still spreading, active cases are still ahead of recovered cases
both globally and in the U.S.
Los Angeles Continues To Avoid The Worst Of It
The spread of cases and deaths from COVID-19 are unlike one another in America’s two largest cities.
New York has a population of 8,398,748 residents.
The comparable number for Los Angeles is 3,990,456.
Confirmed cases in the Los Angeles area are 52,237. Deaths number 2,172, up 99.
However, these numbers are for Los Angeles County which contains The City of Los Angeles and about another six million people. The country includes 13 other cities with populations over 100,000. The figures for cases and death count for LA alone clearly must be much lower than the county’s.
The comparable figures for New York are 172,354. Deaths of 13,365, which rose 197.
The New York figures are only for the city, and not surrounding areas.
In another contrast, the death toll in Los Angeles County is not much higher than in another of America’s
cities which is much smaller. Detroit has a population of 672,662. Wayne Country, Mich., is made up almost entirely of The City of Detroit. Wayne County’s confirmed cases total 17,106. Deaths are 1,884, up 82.
Despite its much smaller population, deaths in Los Angeles County are only 15% higher
than those in Wayne County,
What accounts for the difference between New York and Los Angeles? Social distancing rules
do not appear to be much different between the two cities. But, the population density of
New York is about three times greater than LA. Also I would venture to guess though Vitamin D levels
play a major factor as well. However, until there is widespread testing, the reasons for the contrast
will remain only a guess.
As states ease restrictions, expert forecasts ‘new waves’ of coronavirus through summer.
Coronavirus in the U.S.: Relaxed Rules and Warm Weather Will Test States?
New York Times: Coronavirus Live Updates: Trump Administration Models Predict
Near Doubling of Daily Death Toll by June!!
Experts will tell you though, there are so many ways to boost immunity
affordably and outsmart a virus?
The best ways of outsmarting a virus and bacterial infections can be easier than you ever thought possible. Stanford University Researchers say. that as little as five minutes of small, gentle rocking back and forth repetitive motions will tamp down your body’s release of immunity-hampering stress hormones,
Chinese researchers say, “when you curb inflammation, it frees up your body’s natural resources
When a hectic day leaves you feeling tensed and you don’t think you have time for 30 minutes of meditation. Simply take 10 deep belly breaths, feeling your abdomen expand with each inhale and contract with every exhale. Harvard scientist state, “this reduce anxiety by 67%, lowers your blood pressure 10 points and helps
you feel calmer within 60 seconds.” Those are the same results you get if you meditate for 30 minutes.
Also no need to walk 10,000 steps each day, Harvard also state, women who walk 4400 steps daily
(about 2 miles or 30 minutes of moderate walking) reduce their mortality rate by 41%.
Another way to help curb an illness is live by the 3 to 1 rule. For every negative thought – think of 3 things
that you’re grateful about in your life. Scientist state this lowers your blood pressure, raises your immune response to invaders and defense to cancer. It also slows the aging process of your blood vessels and organs.
In fact, scientist state doing this daily can add 12 healthy years to your life. Health experts suggest drinking
16 ounces of water every three walking hours each day which thins your blood, warding off harmful clots.
Its also important to eat green and clean:
The Lancet found munching on just 3 servings of vegetables and fruit
provide the same protective benefits as if you eat the recommended five to nine servings.
So if you struggle to eat the recommended amount, don’t worry?
One big green salad a day provides a healthy punch of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
that works in synergy to balance blood pressure, lower cholesterol and repairs cellular damage,
which eases strain on your heart. Also socializing (talking on the phone helps if you can’t get out)
is proven to sharpen thinking as you age.
University scientist say, that the elderly with a strong network of friends have the sharpest memories. Chatting with friends provides mental exercise to keep your brain cells biologically younger than your actual age. Numerous studies proves those that laugh and smile, compared to those who tend to be more sober-faced have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol — which has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, stroke and suppressed immunity. Get enough sunshine to boost your Vitamin D levels each day is vital as well.
Also enhance your smile while making sure you floss daily.
It helps relieve the odor between your teeth that causes bad breath, keeps gums healthy,
it reduces dementia risk by 65%. Remember too: oral bacteria can travel to the brain
where it can cause inflammation that leads to Alzheimer!!!
London (CNN) When Suryakant “Suri” Nathwani returned from the hospital, the reserved
81-year-old grabbed his son’s hand and pleaded to be allowed to die at home.
“He said, ‘Please promise me one thing: If I’m going to go, I’m going to go here.
Do not take me back there,'” his son Raj Nathwani said. Read More:
Ask the experts: How long can COVID-19 live on different surfaces?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsh2yQZXipo