The University of Kansas Health System is treating a total of 53 COVID patients today, 50 yesterday. Other significant numbers:

• 30 with the active virus today, 29 yesterday
• 3 in ICU, 4 yesterday
• 2 on a ventilator, 2 yesterday

Key points from today’s guests:

Irma Starr, heart aneurysm patient, world renowned artist

• In her 80s, she was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm and underwent surgery to correct it.
• On the day of her surgery, she was diagnosed with COVID, but because she was up to date on her vaccines and had minimal symptoms, the surgery proceeded.
• The surgery was a success and Irma is now back to creating the art that she loves so much.
• She is so grateful for the doctors, the staff and her family for the support they have given her and the confidence to be able to continue her passion with art.

Dr. Greg Muehlebach, thoracic surgeon, The University of Kansas Health System

• Age is clearly a risk factor with this procedure.
• The main thing she was concerned about was waking up with a stroke -- here's this artist that uses her hands and her feet and if she has a stroke that's disabling her, her livelihood is gone.
• An aneurysm is an enlargement of any blood vessel. The difference for Irma was that hers actually had grown over a centimeter in size. And that's what prompted us to operate.
• In the case of World Cup soccer journalist Grant Wahl, who died of an apparent aortic aneurysm, once the aneurysm ruptures, it becomes an emergency situation with very little time to react.

Dr. Charlie Porter, cardio-oncologist, The University of Kansas Health System

• Her recovery was remarkably quick.
• Patient relationships are a very rewarding part of the profession – has patients he has worked with for about 30 years now.
• Has helped Irma in her art studio as she creates gnome-like figurines in honor of doctors and nurses.
• None have been sold, but Irma is creating more gnomes honoring nurses in preparation for National Nurses Week the first week in May.
• These are hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, director of infection control and prevention, The University of Kansas Health System

• A new study that shows that COVID vaccines prevented 3 million deaths just here in the U.S.
• This is one more large piece of data in the bulk of data, not just for COVID-19 but for vaccines in general showing that vaccines save lives.
• We continue to hear things there continues to be a lot of misinformation out there about the safety of the vaccine, about the efficacy of the vaccine -- and this is one more good piece of data to support the fact that yes, the vaccines do help.
• They did provide a protection from death, and it would have been a lot worse if we didn't have these vaccines.
• It also turns out that all the COVID research that's been happening has helped experts gain a new understanding about the flu virus.
• The virology, the immunology, understanding how our body interacts, understanding what happens with those respiratory viruses that we are all so commonly affected with – this research has helped for all of it.

Morning Medical Update will be taking a hiatus from live programs for the next two weeks, but encore presentations of our favorite episodes will be playing. Live programming will resume Wednesday, January 4, 2023. Area Chief Medical Officers will gather with Dr. Stites for a status report on COVID, flu and RSV in the region.

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