Smith Family
Hi I'm Dannielle and I'm raising money for the Smith Family. The entire family has tested positive for Covid-19 and while the kids have come through Kathy and Tim are still fighting this horrible virus.
On Saturday July 24, 2021 Tim was out cutting grass when he started to feel sick. He finished the yard he was working on and then made his way home. He said it came on fast and he was just feeling horrible. Kathy came home from work to find him in bed and quickly realized he was really sick. Tim tested positive for Covid-19 the next day with a home test. Kathy called the local clinic to see if the test would need to be confirmed at a doctor's office. She was instructed to keep him home and only seek medical treatment at the hospital if he had chest pains or trouble breathing. She was also instructed to quarantine with her family during Tim's illness. Kathy tested herself and their kids Caitlyn and Gavin. At this point Both kids tested positive while Kathy remained negative for Covid-19 . Tim had many symptoms through out the next few days and continued to struggle, Both kids had symptoms but remained mild.
On Saturday July 31 2021 Kathy tested positive. Tim continued to get worse and had additional symptoms over the week. On Saturday Tim's Blood Oxygen levels were not going higher than 85 ( under 90 is considered low). He started vomiting and was extremely tired. This continued over the weekend. Kathy brought Tim to the ER Monday morning when he still hadn't shown any improvement. At that time they didn't feel his illness was enough to admit him and sent him home. Later Monday night Tim started to cough up blood, had shortness of breath, a fever and a Blood oxygen level of 82. Kathy brought him back to the ER and at this time they took him back and eventually admitted him. He was given a CAT scan, his blood oxygen stayed at 86. They put him on oxygen that night.
On Tuesday August 3, 2021 Kathy spoke to nurse and was told that Tim has Pneumonia. He was given Remdesivir, steroids, fluids, and breathing exercises to help raise his blood oxygen. Tim was also placed on 3 liters of oxygen. By Noon Kathy received another update they had to increase his oxygen to 6 liters his o2 was now 92 and he was given a blood thinner to make sure he stayed free of clots. They were getting him up but he was getting pretty winded.
Tim's condition has continued to deteriorate over the last week. Kathy received a call from the from the hospital on Saturday August 7, 2021. Tim was moved to the ICU they couldn't get his oxygen stable. They ended up sedating him so they could put him on a ventilator. He was not able to to maintain a normal temperature and continued to spike a fever. They added and adjusted many medications over the course of his treatment. As this very long day continued he was not showing improvements.
On Sunday August 8, 2021 Kathy received a very difficult call from Tim's doctor. Tim was starting to go into Multi system organ failure. The doctor wanted to be as up front as possible and prepare them for the worst. He told Kathy that If Tim pulled through this he was going to be severely debilitated and have a very long recovery ahead. The prognosis is not good and they are trying to do anything they can to help him continue to fight. They started dialysis around 4:30pm because his kidneys had stopped working and they wanted to help his body remove the built up fluid. Kathy spoke to the nurse after the treatment and they were able to remove 2 liters of fluids. The nurse let her know that if he was a candidate in the morning they would be transferring him to a different hospital to place him on Ecmo .
As of today August 9, 2021 Tim was still fighting a fever and required another round of dialysis. As of 9pm they were able to remove another 2 liters of fluids and discontinue the blood pressure meds. His fever is running between 99-100 and he remains Covid-19 positive. Kathy and the kids have all tested negative now. Kathy has a lingering cough and loss of taste and smell.
Tim is still fighting and we are hopeful that with the care he is receiving that he will come out the other side. With that being said we have no idea what this looks like. Tim is dedicated to his family and friends. This is a Family that would give you anything and never ask for anything in return. So many people have reached out in this impossible time and wanted a way to help. Without knowing what tomorrow holds all I can ask is we try and help The Smiths. If there is anything you can do to help take some of this burden off the family it would be forever appreciated. If you know this family you know how easy it is to love them. Any funds raised will be used to support the family.