After yesterday’s big jump to 36 COVID-19 patients being treated at The University of Kansas Health System, the number has dropped to 27 today. Six of those patients are in the ICU, down from 9 yesterday, with 4 on ventilators, up from 3 yesterday. 32 other patients are still hospitalized from COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase.
What’s it like to have your spouse in the hospital, critically ill from COVID-19, and you can’t get in to visit? That was the scary story for Scott and Shannon Bruegge (brew- gee …hard ‘g’ rhymes with “key”) from Tonganoxie who shared their COVID-19 story on today’s media briefing. Their doctors from Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Pulmonologist Dr. Krishna (Krish-NA) Rangarajan (rang -AH-raj-AN) and Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Christopher Brychel. (BrI-shell) also joined the panel.
Scott Bruegge began feeling ill in March, and by the middle of the month, was having trouble breathing. That’s when he went to the hospital, where his condition quickly worsened. His oxygen level dropped rapidly, and he had to be on a ventilator for 10 days. Doctors say many patients never recover after being on for so long and were trying to prepare his wife Shannon for the worst. It was especially hard as she was presumed positive for the virus, though she couldn’t be tested, and could only talk by phone and ZOOM with the doctors. But Scott’s condition gradually improved and he was able to be removed from the ventilator. He was finally well enough to go home but needed home health care for a time. He says it took more than a month before he felt better and could resume activities. Doctors said he’s lucky, as many patients take up to six months to recover. Shannon’s advice for non-believers is everyone needs to pay attention to the latest medical advice. She hopes those people, or their family never have to go through what they did. She advises everyone to stay at home when possible, be smart and figure that everyone near you has the virus.
Dr. Rangarajan described how difficult it was to hold family meetings by ZOOM, especially when things looked grim early in the pandemic based on what doctors had seen in New York and overseas. He says at that time they didn’t have current therapies like remdesivir or convalescent plasma and were focused more on supportive care. He believes Scott’s young age definitely helped in his recovery. He knows we all want this to be over, but says we have a long way to go and our number one job is to keep each other safe.
Dr. Brychel agreed the absence of tools at the beginning of the pandemic was frustrating but notes we have learned so much since then. He says there’s been a sharp uptick in COVOD-19 cases since the beginning of school, especially in the 18-24-year age range. He also described the different patient demographics of those in Lawrence Memorial Hospital, where six of the eight COVID-19 deaths in Douglas County have occurred. He says the best defense against the virus is prevention.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, commented on those who try to misconstrue a recent CDC report that only six percent of COVID-19 deaths are just from the virus. He says don’t delude yourself into thinking it’s not that bad. Most of the deaths included underlying diseases which were made worse by COVID-19, and those people would likely not have died if not for the coronavirus. He also noted that the disease has taken both an emotional and financial toll on everyone.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, says trying to achieve herd immunity from COVID-19 itself is a bad idea as that requires a 40-60 percent spread of the disease. But he says herd immunity from vaccination is good. He says it’s still too soon to know if you can get the virus a second time. He explained how to get a feel for how the disease is doing in the Metro area by keeping track of the 7-day rolling average, which he says has been up and down lately but overall, down from several months ago. He says some still believe it’s a conspiracy but says the facts show it’s real.
Wednesday, September 2 at 8:00 a.m. is the next morning media update. Is it ragweed or COVID-19? We’ve seen patients here convinced they have only allergies and surprised when they test positive for COVID-19. We get insight from Dr. Selina Gierer (pronounced “gear”) in allergy, immunology and rheumatology medicine plus Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon Dr. Keith Sale who is also our VP of Ambulatory Services.
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