Help Alicia Bartlett after sudden loss of Daniel

On August 23rd, 2023 Daniel G. Bartlett gained his wings. It was devastating to us all because we felt he was on the road to coming home. On August 3rd Dan was taken to the emergency room for a horrible infection in his foot. This is always a HUGE concern for anyone who is a Diabetic and Dan has been one for over 20 years. Simple tests were run as we sat there for hours; the looming feeling of Dan being admitted was definitely on our minds. After he was admitted into the emergency room, he was administered antibiotics to start working on the infection. Less then 10 hours after being admitted he was seen by a surgeon and it was decided within minutes that this was more serious than we had wanted to believe. Scans were done to determine the damage this infection had caused, as well as the gas being produced by the infection. Within an hour of the surgeon seeing Dan, he was being wheeled off to surgery for one of possible three surgical procedures. They were going to have to remove more than half of his foot due to a flesh-eating bacterium that was spreading up through his ankle. This procedure would merely be a step in stopping the spread. The surgery was successful but Dan had a very hard time recovering from anesthesia. Hours became days before we would see the Dan, we all know and loved start to come back to us. We would meet several doctors for Dan’s case and Alicia would stay day and night to make sure that she didn’t miss the opportunity to talk to the doctors. The next step only 4 days later would be yet another invasive surgery to amputate just below Dan’s knee. This seemed to be the hardest recovery of them all. But again, with some more time we started to see Dan smile, feed himself, hold conversations and most importantly smile and laugh again. He started physical therapy within the hospital and was starting to learn to get out of bed and stand (with assistance). These were all positive signs we were looking for. Then the talk of rehabilitation was next on our check list to get Dan back home. Alicia went to several rehab facilities on a list she was given by the hospital. With very little time left in the hospital and not many facilities with a bed for Dan, we found one. And he was transferred the next day. At this point we only had positive thoughts, the thoughts of possibly losing Dan to this infection had started to leave our minds. Upon entering into rehab Dan was understanding of the hard road that lay in front of him and he told Alicia he was ready and he wanted to come home. Little did we know that less then a week later our whole world would come crashing down. Dan started to seem less and less like the man we transferred from the hospital. He started to become very confused, frustrated at times, and his strength was starting to diminish. We as his family noticed it and started to question how the facility did not notice his change. We had gone into the rehab early on August 22nd to speak with the doctor and voice our concerns and be with him during physical and occupational therapy. But the man we walked into was a shell of Dan, he was unable to speak, unable to catch his breath, blood pressure dropping by the minute and heart rate through the roof. In a matter of minutes, we had nurses crowding the room and calling 911. He was rushed via an ambulance to the hospital. Upon arrival he was put on oxygen, IV’s and medication to help with his blood pressure. Unknowing to us this would be the last time we saw Dan with his eyes open. This day was a world wind to say the least. Before this day would turn into the next, we would be asked to say our goodbyes because Dan was sub coming to Septic Shock. His body was done fighting and it was shutting down. We have started planning for things we did not except to be laid out on the road ahead of us. And there is so much unknown in Alicia’s future. Not only having to navigate without the love of her life, knowing he will never walk through her doors, but all of the courageous attempts to keep him alive and bring him home were all at a cost we are yet to even know.