LARRY MILLS FIGHTING COVID-19 FUND
Donation protected
My husband Larry Mills tested positive for COVID-19 on August 20, 2020 and was admitted to Monument Health Rapid City Hospital with breathing difficulties, fever chills and fatigue. A couple of days later, he was given donated plasma and Remdesivir (investigational antiviral medicine) and was starting to feel better. His lungs were sounding pretty good for a COVID patient they said, and he was able to put together longer sentences while not getting as winded, but, that was short lived.
On August 26th, Larry started going downhill and was moved to the hospitals makeshift ICU COVID-19 Wing to better monitor his oxygen numbers. He developed dry crackles in his lungs and the Dr said the issue now is the inflammation in his body and was given diuretics and the steroid Dexamethasone. On August 27th his breathing had deteriorated further and was sedated, intubated and put on a ventilator with 100% oxygen support. The doctors tried to lower the ventilation throughout the night but by early morning he was back up to 100% vent oxygen. He was then put in the prone position (stomach) for better oxygenation for 16 hours and then turned to supine (back) for 8 hours. They continued to do this as needed over many days. The doctors tried to lower his sedation everyday but they kept having to start it again as he would get agitated and his blood pressure and heart rate would fluctuate.
August 30th, His doctor says he’s in serious but stable condition at this point. His kidney function has gotten worse so they stopped the diuretics. He has developed viral pneumonia. Early the next morning he wasn’t ventilating very well so they had to put him back in the prone position. Took him off Blood Pressure medication as it is now holding steady.
They did chest x-rays on September 1st, he has a Bacterial infection, they started him on Vancomycin. They also took a nasal swab and it came back positive for MRSA (type of Staphylococcus infection). His Blood Pressure dropped again, so he’s back on medication. Started having a fever the next evening, gave him Tylenol. They are still trying to lower sedation to see if he can follow simple instructions; squeeze my finger, wiggle your toes. Throughout the night, he’s been more dependent on the ventilator. They took more x-rays and the Pulmonologist said he has ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome), and that he had went from bad to worse. They are going to give him a heavier sedation and a paralytic to put him in to a medically induced coma so his body doesn’t have to work as hard and it can try to heal.
Sept 4th, the doctors are going to do an echocardiogram to look at his heart, and a CT scan of his lungs and abdomen to see what else might be going on since he’s been having hidden fevers and they can’t pinpoint as to why, so they can treat with a specific antibiotic. They are moving him to the regular ICU in the main hospital to better cope with Larry’s numerous complications. The echocardiogram was good. The next day, they did a Bronchoscopy to look at his lungs and to take samples of tissue for slides and cultures.
Sept 6th, Kidney function worsened again, so he might need dialysis. The doctor said, “ If they have to STRESS the KIDNEYS to SAVE his LUNGS they will”. No fever today and nothing growing from the cultures. They have him on Penicillin antibiotic and they are keeping him heavily sedated but will try to take away the paralytic. The doctor likes the trend today.
Good news is always short lived. Sometimes it is hard to stay positive when he takes 1 step forward and 2-3 steps backwards. Larry had a rough night last night and metabolically the Dr said needs dialysis, as he is now in Renal Failure. The doctor said he might be allergic to the Penicillin so they are stopping it. They started dialysis and it took off 1 Liter of fluid. They were slowly trying to wean him off the ventilator, once again he had a setback and was put back on 100% ventilation. He developed blood clots in both of his legs so they had him on a
Heparin drip (Blood thinner). Blood pressure is good. They did another round of dialysis and took off 3 Liters of fluid. They continue to try and lower the sedation and paralytic, but he becomes agitated and they have to up it again.
On Sept 11th, his breathing is labored, and his blood pressure is all over the place so they are trying to regulate it and will be doing a different type of dialysis called CRRT (Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy) since he wasn’t tolerating the regular dialysis. They stopped the paralytic, but he didn’t like the ventilator so he’s heavily sedated. Was informed he had gotten a bed sore and Wound Care was consulted. Hemoglobin is good, no bleeding from being on blood thinners. The doctor said they want to put in Tracheostomy next week. He said it would be more comfortable for him than the ventilator and he may need less sedation, won’t fight it like the ventilator tube, and he may start to become more coherent.
September 13, talked to the doctor and nurse, they said that Larry was pretty sick, and his lungs were pretty bad, they are at a standstill as far as treatment for his lungs, he had been hoping for more of an improvement these last few days. I asked for them to tell me honestly, He said to “Prepare for the Worst and Hope for the Best”, I was heartbroken. They asked if I wanted to come see him today, which was the first time since he was admitted, and I cherished every minute of it.
September 15, they put a Tracheostomy in and removed the Ventilator intubation tube. The procedure went well. A couple of days later they put in a more permanent tunneled catheter for dialysis. Physical Therapy is working with him doing range of motion in his limbs as his hands and feet are so swollen from all the fluid that continues to accumulate throughout his body. Hemoglobin is decreasing, which they said is normal for patients that have been sick and in the hospital for so long, plus having dialysis and having so much blood drawn, but is not critical at this point.
September 19, they stopped the paralytic and were able to wean down the sedation a bit. They did a head CT on him and said it was fine, so him not being overly coherent at this point is probably from the long-term sedation and they are hoping to wean him off completely.
September 20th, Larry had a good day. I was able to visit him at the hospital again(as he can have 1 visitor once a week for 15 minutes). It was so good to see him, he has improved so much since the 13th, when I saw him last. He’s off the Blood Pressure meds and his vent setting is down to 50%, so they changed back to the regular dialysis, three times a week, if he can tolerate it. While I was there talking to him, he turned his head towards me a couple of times. He opened and closed his mouth, like he was trying to say something but no sound came out. He didn’t move his hand while I was holding it, I am sure it was from them being so swollen and from the lack of circulation. The doctors are discussing sending him to a Long Term Care Facility.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Hon!!!
September 22nd, I was able to FaceTime him to wish him a Happy 53rd Birthday. Our son and daughter FaceTimed him from Utah and said he raised his eyebrows. When his brother, Rick FaceTimed him he said he turned his head towards his voice on the iPad. I think it helped raise his spirits to be able to hear his family talking to him. The next day, the doctors put in a more permanent feeding tube into his stomach, the procedure went well. He has once again developed hospital-acquired pneumonia and is on Vancomycin, again! He was getting restless, probably due to pain from his earlier procedure, so they put him back on Propofol (sedation). They are also going to give him something to help promote red blood cells as his Hemoglobin has dropped more.
September 24th Dr stated that from a respiratory aspect, he’s not doing to bad, and has moved to the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) setting on the vent, and the next step is to put a Trach Collar on to start weaning him off of the ventilator for a few hours daily so he can start pushing air in and out of his lungs on his own. September 26th, still doing well on the CPAP setting. Was able to use the Trach Collar and he was breathing on his own for about 2 1/2 hours. Yay!!! Go Larry!!!!
September 27, I got to go to the hospital to see him. It was so good to see and visit him, they said earlier in the day he had the Trach collar on and had been breathing on his own for 3 hours, I could tell as he was pretty wore out when I was visiting with him.
September 29th I was able to FaceTime him with my parents and Aunt and Uncle, and he looked really good, he was a little more responsive, turning his head to our voices. Everybody was excited to see him.
September 30th TODAY IS THE DAY!! After 41 days of being in the hospital, Larry was air-lifted to the Long Term care Facility in Sioux Falls, SD which will allow him to get the one-on-one daily therapies he needs to get him off of the Trach, and be able to talk, and also strengthen his muscles to give him more mobility in his arms and legs. UPDATE: He arrived safely in Sioux Falls and was transported to the treatment Facility, where they were getting him settled in. He was pretty tired it, had been a very long day for him.
October 1st, the PT/OT/Speech Therapist’s will be in with Larry assessing him over the next few days to get a Plan of Care for the next steps to his recovery. He still has a long road ahead of him.
Thank you to all the doctors, nurses and staff at Monument Health Rapid City Hospital for doing what you do! A HUGE THANK YOU to all our family and friends for your continued thoughts, prayers, Love and support. Without all of you it would be a much bumpier road.
Thank you for your continued support through your generous donations and by sharing Larry’s story.
UPDATE: FRIDAY, OCT 2ND
The PT/OT nurse called late this afternoon to say that she worked with Larry today and he sat on the edge of the bed for 15 minutes still with assistance. (The other day was only 3 minutes.) No pain and breathing was good. Answered most of her questions with a nod yes or no. Will continue to do that everyday during the week, helped him move his arms and legs, has a little bit of motion on his own in his arms but not much, and none in his legs. On weekends 2x a day they will have him sit in a chair for as long as he can.
His nurse called later and said he had dialysis today and they took off 1.9 liters of fluid. WBC still elevated so they are keeping him on the Vancomycin but he is still doing ok.
UPDATE: SATURDAY, OCT 3RD
His nurse said he had a pretty good day. He is following commands better and squeezed the nurse’s hand slightly, and sort of lifted his forearm a little off the pillow. She said he had a lot of secretions but had a good cough. Gave him a Scopolamine patch behind his ear to help with that. Did dressing change on his wound. Gave him an antibiotic for a UTI.
UPDATE: MONDAY, OCT 5TH (TODAY IS THE BEST UPDATE)
OMG. The Respiratory Therapist just FaceTimed me because they put the Trach Collar on so he could talk. I heard his voice and he was actually talking. I'm so happy! She was asking him different questions and he was actually answering with a short sentence. And he smiled a few times too. Then he said “bye hun, love you” when we were done. He was in pain from the wound the way he was sitting so they will reposition him and then in an hour put him in the chair for a while. But she asked what level of pain and he said 4 and she asked if he had gotten any Tylenol or anything and he had to think for a bit and said he didn't know.
UPDATE: WEDNESDAY, OCT 7TH
The Speech Therapist Facetimed me, this morning, so I could see Larry while she asked him some question: where do you live and work, what he does there, and he did pretty good. Then she had him try ice chips for the first time, thickened fruit juice and apple sauce so she could check his swallowing, he did really good. His Trach is capped and he using the nose cannula with high flow oxygen 6-7 liters and his O2 Sats are at 99%. She left so Larry and I could visit, but he kept dozing off because that kind of wore him out this morning and he needs his rest since he has dialysis today.
UPDATE: SATURDAY, OCT 10TH
Late Friday night, the Dr. lifted the COVID-19 precautions and I drove to Sioux Falls to see him today and Sunday. It was so good to see him finally but a little rough too. He has lost soooo much muscle, he's like a skeleton.
UPDATE: TUESDAY, OCT 13TH:
They did an x-ray swallow study and it went well. He is able to start on soft textured food like mashed potatoes, meatloaf etc....he will still need to have the thickened liquid for awhile longer. The nurse said he was in better spirits and was visiting with people when he went for his study.
UPDATE: WEDNESDAY, OCT 14TH:
Larry had dialysis this morning instead of afternoon because last Friday (Oct 9th) he got really really sick. He vomited and aspirated some into his lungs, they said if he hadn't done that they would taken out his Trach that day. Then on Monday, Oct 12th he had dialysis and had a seizure-like episode where he was unresponsive for a few seconds and his blood pressure dropped. They did an EEG right away and the Neurologist read it and said it was not a seizure. So, they requested a morning run of dialysis today to see if it made a difference and it DID NOT. The nurse said about an hour into dialysis today he had another seizure-like episode and was unresponsive for a few seconds and then came out of it. They said they did not take fluid off and actually had to put fluid back and he did good after that. He did order mashed potatoes and cheesecake for lunch but was only able to eat a few bites, but was huge step in the right direction. The case manager put a note in for the Nephrologist to call me to hopefully explain why this is happening now with dialysis and what can be done, if anything, to prevent another one of these episodes.
Thank you so much for all of you who have donated so far and who have shared Larry’s story, please keep it going.
On August 26th, Larry started going downhill and was moved to the hospitals makeshift ICU COVID-19 Wing to better monitor his oxygen numbers. He developed dry crackles in his lungs and the Dr said the issue now is the inflammation in his body and was given diuretics and the steroid Dexamethasone. On August 27th his breathing had deteriorated further and was sedated, intubated and put on a ventilator with 100% oxygen support. The doctors tried to lower the ventilation throughout the night but by early morning he was back up to 100% vent oxygen. He was then put in the prone position (stomach) for better oxygenation for 16 hours and then turned to supine (back) for 8 hours. They continued to do this as needed over many days. The doctors tried to lower his sedation everyday but they kept having to start it again as he would get agitated and his blood pressure and heart rate would fluctuate.
August 30th, His doctor says he’s in serious but stable condition at this point. His kidney function has gotten worse so they stopped the diuretics. He has developed viral pneumonia. Early the next morning he wasn’t ventilating very well so they had to put him back in the prone position. Took him off Blood Pressure medication as it is now holding steady.
They did chest x-rays on September 1st, he has a Bacterial infection, they started him on Vancomycin. They also took a nasal swab and it came back positive for MRSA (type of Staphylococcus infection). His Blood Pressure dropped again, so he’s back on medication. Started having a fever the next evening, gave him Tylenol. They are still trying to lower sedation to see if he can follow simple instructions; squeeze my finger, wiggle your toes. Throughout the night, he’s been more dependent on the ventilator. They took more x-rays and the Pulmonologist said he has ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome), and that he had went from bad to worse. They are going to give him a heavier sedation and a paralytic to put him in to a medically induced coma so his body doesn’t have to work as hard and it can try to heal.
Sept 4th, the doctors are going to do an echocardiogram to look at his heart, and a CT scan of his lungs and abdomen to see what else might be going on since he’s been having hidden fevers and they can’t pinpoint as to why, so they can treat with a specific antibiotic. They are moving him to the regular ICU in the main hospital to better cope with Larry’s numerous complications. The echocardiogram was good. The next day, they did a Bronchoscopy to look at his lungs and to take samples of tissue for slides and cultures.
Sept 6th, Kidney function worsened again, so he might need dialysis. The doctor said, “ If they have to STRESS the KIDNEYS to SAVE his LUNGS they will”. No fever today and nothing growing from the cultures. They have him on Penicillin antibiotic and they are keeping him heavily sedated but will try to take away the paralytic. The doctor likes the trend today.
Good news is always short lived. Sometimes it is hard to stay positive when he takes 1 step forward and 2-3 steps backwards. Larry had a rough night last night and metabolically the Dr said needs dialysis, as he is now in Renal Failure. The doctor said he might be allergic to the Penicillin so they are stopping it. They started dialysis and it took off 1 Liter of fluid. They were slowly trying to wean him off the ventilator, once again he had a setback and was put back on 100% ventilation. He developed blood clots in both of his legs so they had him on a
Heparin drip (Blood thinner). Blood pressure is good. They did another round of dialysis and took off 3 Liters of fluid. They continue to try and lower the sedation and paralytic, but he becomes agitated and they have to up it again.
On Sept 11th, his breathing is labored, and his blood pressure is all over the place so they are trying to regulate it and will be doing a different type of dialysis called CRRT (Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy) since he wasn’t tolerating the regular dialysis. They stopped the paralytic, but he didn’t like the ventilator so he’s heavily sedated. Was informed he had gotten a bed sore and Wound Care was consulted. Hemoglobin is good, no bleeding from being on blood thinners. The doctor said they want to put in Tracheostomy next week. He said it would be more comfortable for him than the ventilator and he may need less sedation, won’t fight it like the ventilator tube, and he may start to become more coherent.
September 13, talked to the doctor and nurse, they said that Larry was pretty sick, and his lungs were pretty bad, they are at a standstill as far as treatment for his lungs, he had been hoping for more of an improvement these last few days. I asked for them to tell me honestly, He said to “Prepare for the Worst and Hope for the Best”, I was heartbroken. They asked if I wanted to come see him today, which was the first time since he was admitted, and I cherished every minute of it.
September 15, they put a Tracheostomy in and removed the Ventilator intubation tube. The procedure went well. A couple of days later they put in a more permanent tunneled catheter for dialysis. Physical Therapy is working with him doing range of motion in his limbs as his hands and feet are so swollen from all the fluid that continues to accumulate throughout his body. Hemoglobin is decreasing, which they said is normal for patients that have been sick and in the hospital for so long, plus having dialysis and having so much blood drawn, but is not critical at this point.
September 19, they stopped the paralytic and were able to wean down the sedation a bit. They did a head CT on him and said it was fine, so him not being overly coherent at this point is probably from the long-term sedation and they are hoping to wean him off completely.
September 20th, Larry had a good day. I was able to visit him at the hospital again(as he can have 1 visitor once a week for 15 minutes). It was so good to see him, he has improved so much since the 13th, when I saw him last. He’s off the Blood Pressure meds and his vent setting is down to 50%, so they changed back to the regular dialysis, three times a week, if he can tolerate it. While I was there talking to him, he turned his head towards me a couple of times. He opened and closed his mouth, like he was trying to say something but no sound came out. He didn’t move his hand while I was holding it, I am sure it was from them being so swollen and from the lack of circulation. The doctors are discussing sending him to a Long Term Care Facility.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Hon!!!
September 22nd, I was able to FaceTime him to wish him a Happy 53rd Birthday. Our son and daughter FaceTimed him from Utah and said he raised his eyebrows. When his brother, Rick FaceTimed him he said he turned his head towards his voice on the iPad. I think it helped raise his spirits to be able to hear his family talking to him. The next day, the doctors put in a more permanent feeding tube into his stomach, the procedure went well. He has once again developed hospital-acquired pneumonia and is on Vancomycin, again! He was getting restless, probably due to pain from his earlier procedure, so they put him back on Propofol (sedation). They are also going to give him something to help promote red blood cells as his Hemoglobin has dropped more.
September 24th Dr stated that from a respiratory aspect, he’s not doing to bad, and has moved to the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) setting on the vent, and the next step is to put a Trach Collar on to start weaning him off of the ventilator for a few hours daily so he can start pushing air in and out of his lungs on his own. September 26th, still doing well on the CPAP setting. Was able to use the Trach Collar and he was breathing on his own for about 2 1/2 hours. Yay!!! Go Larry!!!!
September 27, I got to go to the hospital to see him. It was so good to see and visit him, they said earlier in the day he had the Trach collar on and had been breathing on his own for 3 hours, I could tell as he was pretty wore out when I was visiting with him.
September 29th I was able to FaceTime him with my parents and Aunt and Uncle, and he looked really good, he was a little more responsive, turning his head to our voices. Everybody was excited to see him.
September 30th TODAY IS THE DAY!! After 41 days of being in the hospital, Larry was air-lifted to the Long Term care Facility in Sioux Falls, SD which will allow him to get the one-on-one daily therapies he needs to get him off of the Trach, and be able to talk, and also strengthen his muscles to give him more mobility in his arms and legs. UPDATE: He arrived safely in Sioux Falls and was transported to the treatment Facility, where they were getting him settled in. He was pretty tired it, had been a very long day for him.
October 1st, the PT/OT/Speech Therapist’s will be in with Larry assessing him over the next few days to get a Plan of Care for the next steps to his recovery. He still has a long road ahead of him.
Thank you to all the doctors, nurses and staff at Monument Health Rapid City Hospital for doing what you do! A HUGE THANK YOU to all our family and friends for your continued thoughts, prayers, Love and support. Without all of you it would be a much bumpier road.
Thank you for your continued support through your generous donations and by sharing Larry’s story.
UPDATE: FRIDAY, OCT 2ND
The PT/OT nurse called late this afternoon to say that she worked with Larry today and he sat on the edge of the bed for 15 minutes still with assistance. (The other day was only 3 minutes.) No pain and breathing was good. Answered most of her questions with a nod yes or no. Will continue to do that everyday during the week, helped him move his arms and legs, has a little bit of motion on his own in his arms but not much, and none in his legs. On weekends 2x a day they will have him sit in a chair for as long as he can.
His nurse called later and said he had dialysis today and they took off 1.9 liters of fluid. WBC still elevated so they are keeping him on the Vancomycin but he is still doing ok.
UPDATE: SATURDAY, OCT 3RD
His nurse said he had a pretty good day. He is following commands better and squeezed the nurse’s hand slightly, and sort of lifted his forearm a little off the pillow. She said he had a lot of secretions but had a good cough. Gave him a Scopolamine patch behind his ear to help with that. Did dressing change on his wound. Gave him an antibiotic for a UTI.
UPDATE: MONDAY, OCT 5TH (TODAY IS THE BEST UPDATE)
OMG. The Respiratory Therapist just FaceTimed me because they put the Trach Collar on so he could talk. I heard his voice and he was actually talking. I'm so happy! She was asking him different questions and he was actually answering with a short sentence. And he smiled a few times too. Then he said “bye hun, love you” when we were done. He was in pain from the wound the way he was sitting so they will reposition him and then in an hour put him in the chair for a while. But she asked what level of pain and he said 4 and she asked if he had gotten any Tylenol or anything and he had to think for a bit and said he didn't know.
UPDATE: WEDNESDAY, OCT 7TH
The Speech Therapist Facetimed me, this morning, so I could see Larry while she asked him some question: where do you live and work, what he does there, and he did pretty good. Then she had him try ice chips for the first time, thickened fruit juice and apple sauce so she could check his swallowing, he did really good. His Trach is capped and he using the nose cannula with high flow oxygen 6-7 liters and his O2 Sats are at 99%. She left so Larry and I could visit, but he kept dozing off because that kind of wore him out this morning and he needs his rest since he has dialysis today.
UPDATE: SATURDAY, OCT 10TH
Late Friday night, the Dr. lifted the COVID-19 precautions and I drove to Sioux Falls to see him today and Sunday. It was so good to see him finally but a little rough too. He has lost soooo much muscle, he's like a skeleton.
UPDATE: TUESDAY, OCT 13TH:
They did an x-ray swallow study and it went well. He is able to start on soft textured food like mashed potatoes, meatloaf etc....he will still need to have the thickened liquid for awhile longer. The nurse said he was in better spirits and was visiting with people when he went for his study.
UPDATE: WEDNESDAY, OCT 14TH:
Larry had dialysis this morning instead of afternoon because last Friday (Oct 9th) he got really really sick. He vomited and aspirated some into his lungs, they said if he hadn't done that they would taken out his Trach that day. Then on Monday, Oct 12th he had dialysis and had a seizure-like episode where he was unresponsive for a few seconds and his blood pressure dropped. They did an EEG right away and the Neurologist read it and said it was not a seizure. So, they requested a morning run of dialysis today to see if it made a difference and it DID NOT. The nurse said about an hour into dialysis today he had another seizure-like episode and was unresponsive for a few seconds and then came out of it. They said they did not take fluid off and actually had to put fluid back and he did good after that. He did order mashed potatoes and cheesecake for lunch but was only able to eat a few bites, but was huge step in the right direction. The case manager put a note in for the Nephrologist to call me to hopefully explain why this is happening now with dialysis and what can be done, if anything, to prevent another one of these episodes.
Thank you so much for all of you who have donated so far and who have shared Larry’s story, please keep it going.
Co-organizers (4)
Victoria Mills
Organizer
Hermosa, SD
Sarah Stradinger
Co-organizer
Phil Klemm
Co-organizer
Richard Thomas
Co-organizer