Two Noras: June 24, 1914 and June 24, 2021

Nora Bauer: Wednesday, June 24, 1914

Mamie Gertrude and I went down to Uncle John's tonight. Pete Dwyer and Agatha got married today. They had some wedding. 

Nora Spitznogle: Thursday, June 24, 2021

Back at work today, stayed late to catch up from being off yesterday. Worried about Dad, stayed in contact with hospital. 

I couldn't find a wedding announcement for Pete and Agatha, but I did stumble across this delightful account of a shower given for him. 

We're all gobsmacked with the news that Dad has COVID-19. I know that the vaccine isn't 100% effective and the doctor suggested that because he was vaccinated early some of the protection may be diminished, not to mention that there are new variants popping up. 

I have even more empathy for the people who had COVID-19 and their families in the early days and weren't able to visit. 

It was terrible to not be able to visit Dad - and he's so social that not having human interaction is hard for him. He really struggled with that during the height of  pandemic. And I was peeved that we'd come this far and I'd spent seventeen months harping on him to be careful and now he has damn COVID-19. 

Luckily the team caring for Dad are able to give us detailed updates, which I then shared with my siblings. 

Morning update: 

• They ran a test that checks blood gasses, and all came back normal. 
• They'll do a chest x-ray to see if the pneumonia has progressed. 
• They've changed him back to the face mask for oxygen, he kept pulling off the cannula - which J.R. and I saw yesterday. 
• They have someone in the room with him to try to keep him calm, he's trying to pull off his monitors and such. 
• She asked about alcohol use - when Dad was asked yesterday he said that he only had two beers a couple of times a week. I updated that number.
• Witham asked for a designated person and for us to try to keep the calls to a couple of times a day (she said that of course we could call more if necessary) and they will also call with any changes. They have my number, if that's okay with everyone, I promise to keep the updates coming and to pass along any concerns. 
• Has Dad ever mentioned who his Medical Power of Attorney is? Dad couldn't remember yesterday. If no one knows, I'll call George*. 

Afternoon update: 

• Just spoke to Lacy, Dr. Wilson's Physicians Assistant. 
• He's doing much better this afternoon than he was this morning and resting more comfortably. 
• Dr. Shapiro (lung doc) has also been in to see him also and agreed with the treatment - a steroid that has been shown effective in COVID patients, along with a medication used to treat Ebola, that is also used to treat COVID, and an mild anti-anxiety medication. Dr. Shapiro added an anti-inflammatory med. 
• He's still on the BiPap - looks sort of like a CPap - for oxygen. His oxygen numbers are in the 90s right now. 
• They're going to find someone to sit with him overnight to help with his anxiety. 
• She told me that this is the fourth patient she knows of that's been vaccinated and has COVID, hopefully it's a milder case because of the vaccine. 
• Lacy is on duty all weekend and promised to keep us informed - she called me with the update. 

The afternoon update seems more promising than the morning one, but it is so hard not to be there. When Dad had his heart surgery last year he was anxious and trying to pull things off - my heart aches for him and I'm praying for patience for the staff. 

* George Stephenson, Dad's nephew and our cousin, son of his sister, Lucille, is Dad's attorney.