Now Dad was worse than before they removed him from the ventilator...
Friday, April 4, we were told that Dad had a relapse and wasn't doing as well as he had been before they took him off the ventilator the first time. His kidneys were beginning to shut down, but the nurses have increased his fluids and the kidneys seemed to be doing better. The doctor said that they'd been seeing this a lot with COVID-19 patients where they have a relapse after being removed from the ventilator.
Late that afternoon Mom was given another update: The good news was that his lungs were clearing. He had been diagnosed with double pneumonia on top of COVID. Now he was already done with the 7-day pack of meds for the coronavirus, but he was still on meds for the pneumonia. He seemed to be resting comfortably, but in spite of the earlier good news about his kidneys responding to the fluids, now we were told that they were too sluggish and needed to be working better. Apparently, this is also common for coronavirus patients.
That night, I found Psalm 142:7 "Set me free from my prison, that I may praise Your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of Your goodness to me." I imagined Dad being imprisoned in that hospital bed by the COVID and the damage it had done. I prayed for God to free Dad from needing the ventilator. I thought of the three people in the Gospels who Jesus had raised from the dead, and how He gave the restored the loved one back to their family. I wrote in my journal, "Oh Jesus, who wept with the sisters of Lazarus, Who is the resurrection and the life, please weep with us now, I pray. And then, if it be Your omniscient will, raise him up and give him back to those who love him."
Saturday and Sunday, Dad's kidneys still weren't producing like they needed to, and by now I was e-mailing updates to close family friends, my aunt, friends at church, and friends in my Bible study. It was so encouraging to know that there were people surrounding us and loving on us and praying for us.
At this point, Mom was still being quarantined since Dad had tested positive for COVID, so there was no point in even thinking about me going up to help her. She had some sweet friends from church and her neighbors, who dropped off food for her at her front door. And she had just told me that she was worried about getting the lawn mowed (she had just barely recovered from foot surgery before Dad was hospitalized), when her pastor, who is a dear family friend, offered to mow it without even being asked.
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