Eulogy for Greg Miklaszewicz

For anyone that wasn't able to make it to Greg's funeral yesterday, I thought I would post his Eulogy.  I wrote this Friday morning and it was read at Greg's funeral by Jim Hendrickson.  

Greg was born on March 18, 1956 to Irene and Edwin Miklaszewicz, the first of four children.  He graduated from Bay View High School in Milwaukee in 1973 and met Julie, the love of his life in 1984, thanks to Julie’s brother, John, and married her on September 9, 1989.  For 37 years, they were always by each other’s side, loving, laughing, fighting, crying, praying and just trying to get through this thing called life together.  Sure, there were some rough patches, as there are in any marriage, but they worked hard through them and deeply loved each other to the end.  Greg gave his life to Jesus in 2012 and never looked back.  Every morning when he’d wake up, the first thing he would do is go on his computer to do his prayers.  He had a lot of emails and websites for daily prayers and he would spend at least an hour reflecting and praying and talking to Jesus. 

Greg’s children really only ever knew their dad as being sick.  He was first diagnosed with cancer in 1992, when Aaron was just a year old.  Greg and Julie weren’t sure if they would be able to have any other children, but God blessed them with two miracles – Erica in 1994 and Abigail, in 1997.  Unfortunately, cancer would rear its ugly head again in 1998, just after they had built a new home in Sturtevant.  After two years of chemotherapy, Greg had a bone marrow transplant on April 12, 2000, with his brother, Tommy, as a perfect match and his donor.  In 2004, the family moved here to the Athens area and never looked back.  Greg’s favorite thing to do was to cut the grass on his riding lawnmower.  He’d be on that lawnmower just about every day in the summer, cutting weird patterns in the grass and driving Abby absolutely crazy!  He never did explain why he cut the grass that way, but it made him happy, so why not? 

     In March of 2017, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and once again, Greg tackled that diagnosis head on.  When it came time for radiation and chemotherapy, Greg’s response was always “let’s do it!”  He never had a doubt that he could kick cancer’s butt and with Jesus by his side he did, every single time.  

     Greg was always very supportive of Julie’s crafting and never complained about how much money she spent on craft supplies, even when she first got her Cricut machine!  He loved shopping at Hobby Lobby every bit as much as Julie did and would happily wander the aisles while Julie was doing her own shopping.  Every time Julie made something new, a paper flower, or a shadow box, or really anything at all, he would just be stunned and exclaim over how beautiful it was and how amazed he was at Julie’s talent.  

Greg had not traveled much before he met Julie, but that all changed when Julie bought a truck and told Greg that seeing as they had a truck, they had to have a camper!  Dear friends helped convince Greg that this was a great idea, and all new adventures began.  They traveled west to Yellowstone.  They traveled east to Washington, D.C. and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, among other places.  They camped in Wisconsin a lot, and made lifelong friends with other campers at the rallies they would attend twice a year.  Greg’s favorite trip, by far, was when they were able to travel to Australia to pick Abby up from her six month internship.  Greg was amazed at everything in Australia!  He was in awe of the Great Barrier Reef and felt so blessed to be able to make such a trip.  It made him want to travel more and he and Julie spent many hours discussing the other places in the world they wanted to visit together.  

Greg always felt that there was plenty of time to do anything that needed to be done.  When they’d have a birthday party for the kids, or Thanksgiving or Christmas as their house, Julie would be preparing for days and would have a list of things for Greg to do.  Invariably, he would be doing those things at the last minute, earning him the nick name “last minute man.”  It was always a joke that if it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done!  That was just how Greg was.  He always did get everything on Julie’s list done, but it was always at the last minute.  

Some of you may have noticed Greg’s pants.  He’s wearing what are called Zubas.  He’s been wearing those crazy pants since they first came out in the 80’s.  For a while, they were hard to find, but we managed to find them last year and everyone bought him a couple pairs for Christmas!  He ended up with something like eight pairs of Zubas!  We still laugh about how many pairs he got and he loved each and every one of them!  If Greg wasn’t wearing Zubas, he was wearing bibs.  He loved his bib overalls.  Every year, Julie would go to Erv the Working Man’s Friend on Mitchell Street in Milwaukee and buy him two pairs for Christmas.  When they started driving up north, they would stop at the Oshkosh B’Gosh outlet store in Oshkosh and pick up a couple pair. 

Greg was generous to a fault.  Always willing to help.  People he worked with through the years have said that “he carried a special sense of calm that always made them feel welcome.”  He was a kind and caring manager and always said good morning to each and every employee.  It was rare that someone came to the house and he was not offering them food.  He loved to cook, and it was always a battle with Julie as to who would make something for the Church potluck.  His food was always a hit!  He loved his Thursday night pizzas that he would load up with everything imaginable, and of course, take pictures of them and post them on Facebook for all the world to see.  Of course, he loved to grill, which earned him the nickname “Greg Grill.”  In fact, the first meal he cooked for Julie was a beautiful sirloin steak!  He prided himself on grilling the perfect medium-rare steak.  He dearly loved a big ole hunk of meat!  

For the last year, Greg spent a lot of time with Julie’s mom, Joyce.  He always called her “Nana” just like the kids did.  He would drive her to all her appointments, whether it was in Appleton or even Madison, or just to get a haircut.  It didn’t matter.  If Nana needed to go somewhere, Greg was always there to drive her.  Greg always said it was like “Driving Miss Daisy” and he thoroughly enjoyed the time he spent with Joyce -- the arguments they’d have, and the laughter they shared.  He would visit her every day, and she’d turn whatever ball game was on for him, whether it was the Brewers or the Packers, or even golf and he’d sit there and visit with her a couple times a day.  She even lived in Greg and Julie’s house for six months while her own home was being built and Greg never complained.  It’s hard to believe that there’s another man out there that took such good care of his mother-in-law or loved her as much as Greg did.  

If Greg had any regrets in life, it would be not being here to walk Abby down the aisle one day, or seeing any of the beautiful grandchildren that the future holds.  He loved his kids more than anything and would instantly drop whatever he was doing if they called and needed something.  He was the one letting Abby sit in his lap and drive his car up and down the street in Sturtevant when she was just five years old!  He helped coach Aaron and Erica’s baseball teams and Aaron’s football teams.  He loved sports, but especially loved watching his kids play sorts.  Baseball, softball, football, volleyball.  He loved it all when his kids were playing.  He even would get the racing sausages costume from Klement's and wear it to their games!  They were his pride and joy and he was always so proud of them and everything they’ve accomplished.  He would beam with pride when he’d see the fish Aaron caught, or the beautiful photos Erica took, or the many things that Abby would do, like put in a new pressure tank in her own house, or installing a new garbage disposal in Greg and Julie’s house.  

He loved Julie with all his heart and always felt bad for her when he was sick.  He always felt that it was harder on her, than on him.  She worried over him and prayed over him.  She took care of him like no other, preparing his meds for him every week, making sure he took them, giving him his weekly infusions, making sure he ate properly and just generally fussing over him when he’d do too much and was in pain.  

Despite the traumatic circumstances for his wife and children in the end, circumstances that would smash anyone into countless emotional fragments, they came together as a family. Their hearts were breaking, but they were united in love — for Greg and each other.   One of the hardest things they had to do as a family was let Greg go.

 

It is a blessing to have had such a father, friend, brother, colleague, and husband. Greg’s legacy will be one of a courageous, compassionate man with an exceptional life story, unparalleled integrity, countless friends, and a family that loved him.

 

We will miss him more than we have ever missed anyone or anything.  And we know we are not alone in that.

 

If you have some time, please enjoy this Tribute Video.  

Greg is no longer in any pain

For anyone that's been following my blog about Greg and has not been seeing my Facebook posts, it is with heartbreaking sorrow to let you know that Greg passed away on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. 

I am at a loss for words at this point in time, so will not be saying much more.  Here is a copy of his Obituary from Maurina-Schilling Funeral Home. 

Obituary  

Gregory “Greg” Miklaszewicz, age 65, of Athens, passed away surrounded by his loving family on Tuesday, October 26, 2021 at Marshfield Medical Center.

A Funeral Service will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 30, 2021 at North Ridge Church in Abbotsford. Pastor Joe Bridger will officiate. Family and friends are welcome on Friday from 3:00 until 7:00 p.m. at the Maurina-Schilling Funeral Home in Abbotsford and from 11:00 a.m. until time of service Saturday at the church. Family and friends unable to attend in person can watch the Vigil and service live on the Maurina Schilling Funeral Home Facebook page or after the service anytime on Facebook or the website.

Greg was born on March 18, 1956, the son of Edwin and Irene (Pichalski) Miklaszewicz in Milwaukee. He graduated from Bay View High School. On September 9, 1989, Greg was united in marriage to the love of his life, Julie Muzynoski in Milwaukee.

Greg loved spending time with his family and all of his animals. He enjoyed traveling, grilling, camping and watching sports. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him.

Greg is survived by his wife, Julie; three children: Aaron (Rachel) Miklaszewicz of Oconto, Erica (Ken) Horacek of Stratford and Abigail Miklaszewicz of Unity; his three siblings: Jody (Dan) Thorstenson of Waterford, Thomas Miklaszewicz of Waterford and Gary (Julia) Miklaszewicz of Milwaukee; his mother-in-law, Joyce Muzynoski of Athens; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his father-in-law, John Muzynoski, Sr.

 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Greg Miklaszewicz please visit our Tribute Store.

Greg Covid - Day 22 - Still Covid Positive

I spoke with Nurse Michael this morning.  Greg's Covid test from yesterday was positive, so I still cannot go and visit with him.  There was no real change overnight.  They did have to adjust his blood pressure meds a bit.  Electrolytes are a little low, but that’s to be expected with increased urine output.  Temp now is 100.2.  

The doctor called me early this afternoon while I was on my lunch.  This was a new doctor, and I'm not sure I like her.  She was very doom and gloom.  Once again, we have a doctor (who never saw Greg before, so doesn't know his history or all the battles he has fought) giving me nothing but bad news.  Some of them really need to work on their bedside manner.  

Greg does have some major problems.  First, his Covid test came back positive, so we cannot see him yet.  They won't test him again for a week.  This sucks, and I am devastated by this news.  Next problem is that he still has an infection.  They know what the bacteria is, so they are treating it appropriately, but it is hurting his recovery.  He is still needing Tylenol regularly to keep his temperature down.  Third, his oxygenation is only at 90%, even with the vent on 100% support.  His oxygenation needs to come up!  With the vent being on 100% support, if he can't keep his oxygen level up, there isn't anything they can do. 

She did say that the cultures they took yesterday are not showing anything yet.  Last time, they started growing something almost immediately.  So, hopefully that means the infection is going away!   

After talking to the doctor, I screamed, I cried, I hollered at God, crying for a miracle!  This isn't fair.  If God was planning on taking Greg home, why make him and all of us suffer so much.  Why has He made Greg suffer so much for so many years?  What did he do to deserve this?  Is God trying to teach me a lesson through Greg?  Why make him suffer so!  Just WHY!  And I have no answers.  All I can do is scream and cry.  My stomach was in knots and I felt like puking all afternoon.  It sucks.  Everything sucks. 

I called Greg's nurse (Martin) at 4 today and did receive some good news.  Greg's oxygenation was up to 95%, which just made me get down on my knees and thank God!  They were able to come down on some of the blood pressure meds, but he is still at 100% on the vent.  He said "we're doing OK right now"  and that Greg has been between a rock and a hard place. 

Please pray for a miracle for Greg.  He needs to be able to keep his oxygenation at at least 95%.  He needs this infection to be gone, and he needs to be healed from Covid!  

This is a picture of both me and Greg today.  When we were in Brisbane, Australia, Greg was just fascinated by these Banyan trees across the street from our hotel!  It's one of his favorite pictures from that trip.  I don't want this to be the last trip we ever take.  I need him healed.  I need him healthy.  I need him back home with me so we can make more beautiful memories together.  Please, please, please pray with all your heart!  

Love, Peace and Prayers, 

Julie

 

Greg Covid - Day 21 Infection Continues

Before church this morning, I spoke to Amanda, Greg's nurse.  He didn't have too many big changes.  They stopped the Lasix drip this morning.  He put out about 2 liters, which was really good result and should make it a little easier for him not having all that extra fluid around his lungs and heart.   There were no changes on the vent.  They had to go up a little on blood pressure meds, but was expected because of the amount of fluid he lost.  He had no high fevers and his blood pressure looks good.  He looks very comfortable.    

I spoke with Dr. John around 4:30 today.  He is currently on pressure support on the vent, so he is breathing on his own.  His oxygenation has been mid-80’s to lower 90’s today.  They haven't changed the vent settings since yesterday and he is still on sedation to keep him comfortable.  They increased his tube feeding to improve his nutrition.  The other problem is the infection.  They talked to an infectious disease doctor yesterday and changed the antibiotic to Cefepime, which is the strongest antibiotic they can use and treats many kinds of bacterial infections, including severe or life-threatening forms.   His blood cultures are still positive, so the bacteria is not gone yet.   They will repeat cultures every day.  Greg's primary problem are his lungs.  He needs time for his lungs to recover.  We are still working on that and he is still fighting.  His oxygen requirement is still pretty high.  He just needs time to get better. 

They are going to do a Covid test today and if it's negative, they will repeat it tomorrow.  He has to have two negative tests to be removed from isolation and for us to be able to visit with him.  They understand the importance of family coming to visit, but they have to follow their rules.  

Please pray that his Covid tests come back negative so we can go visit him!  I firmly believe that if he can hear me and feel me holding his hand, that it will make a huge difference.  Having the kids visit will make a big difference for him, too!  

Please also pray that they are able to get a handle on whatever bacterial infection he has in his blood.  We need the antibiotics to work to get rid of that infection!  

Finally, please pray for Greg's lungs to begin healing. 

Here, Greg is modeling a t-shirt I made for him a couple years ago  I'm going to have to figure out another one to make for him when he gets out of the hospital! Just more proof of what a fighter he is!    

 Love, Peace and Prayers to all, 

Julie

Greg Covid - Day 20 - Not Much Change

I spoke with Greg's nurse, Amanda this morning (such a sweet person!) Greg had a pretty good night.  His temperature is under control and they are coming down on the blood pressure meds.  He is still on pressure support – he’s doing most of breathing on his own, but is still requiring a decent amount of sedation to keep him comfortable.  They don't have the results from the cultures yet.  

Around 6 p.m., I spoke to Amanda again.  Greg had a pretty decent day.  When the doctors did their rounds today, they decided he has some extra fluid, so they started him on IV Lasix (he took Lasix normally for his heart failure, so I'm not surprised by this).  It will help with his lungs and breathing and they have better control with an IV than pills.  They didn't too much otherwise, which she said was a good thing.  There were no changes to the vent, and he has gone up and down on blood pressure meds, but that is to be expected, because when there’s less fluid in the vessels, your blood pressure goes down.  But it was nothing crazy. 

She said that they have the TV on in his room and sometimes music.  This morning, they had it on a movie channel and had Wonder Woman on!  She said there was another superhero moving coming on, I don't know which movie it was, but when I told her about my Iron Man, she thought it was the perfect movie for him!  I did tell her that he loves sports, so a Brewer game or football game would also be good for him.  

So, that's it for today's update.  Not much to report, but that is not a bad thing.  We still need to wait for the cultures to come back, so please pray that the doctors are able to figure out what infection he has so they can treat it appropriately and he can start to get better.  Please also pray that his Covid test comes out negative so I can go visit him!  

Today's picture of Greg is from July, 2003.  We were on vacation in the Outer Banks in North Carolina in this picture.  This was actually the first time Greg had been to the ocean!  He was busy taking videos of the kids enjoying their first time in the ocean, as well!  It was an awesome trip, where we got to visit with and actually meet in person someone I met in a camping forum a few years previously.  Bud and his family were awesome hosts when we visited with them and it was because of them that we went to the Outer Banks on this particular trip and remain good friends to this day.

For all that have been asking about me, I'm doing OK, I guess.  Tonight I'm going to have some of the lasagna that Erica made for me.  It's nice to have ready-to-eat foods that are not crappy frozen foods, so while I thought I didn't need anything, I'm incredibly grateful for everything she's made for me.  I insisted I didn't need her to do that, and she insisted that I did.  I am so thankful that she didn't listen to me!  I also need to thank the friend of Abby's that dropped off some amazing food today, too!  Leah, the pumpkin cupcakes are delicious, and I'll be having some molasses cookies (a favorite of mine!) after dinner tonight.   I can't wait to try the rest of the food you made.  It all looks so delicious!  I can't thank you enough and it was very sweet of you to make all that!  Also, thanks to Erica's friend, Morgan for the chocolate chip/banana muffins!  They look delicious and will make a great breakfast treat!  It's so sweet of everyone to do this for me.  

Abby has been here doing all kinds of different stuff for me that I'm not really able to do.  She took 100 feet of hose to the basement for me for the winter and turned off both outside faucets.  I just have to remember to go outside and open the faucets so we don't have to worry about them freezing over the winter.  I have two cement bird baths that she took the top bath part off and tipped on their sides so I don't have to worry about them cracking in the winter.  She also made some adjustments in the chicken coop for me.  Abby has been so awesome in helping out with the heavy work that needs to be done!  

I spent the day cleaning the family room and my office, along with going through a bunch of paperwork.  I also went to the dump and cleaned up all the dog poo outside (three dogs really poo a lot!) and took all mom's hanging baskets and put them behind the shed so I can empty them and make my own hanging baskets next spring.  I still have to move mine, and I'll do that in the next couple of days.  It's really handy having the ATV to move all that stuff around!  I had to move a 50 pound bag of dog food into the house and a 50 pound bag of chicken feed to the coop, and my back is hurting a bit now, but I'm sure that will be gone by tomorrow.  I also managed to get a couple loads of laundry done.  Maybe mom will fold it all for me tomorrow.  

Work is getting more intense these days.  As I mentioned, I'm on mandatory overtime right now and it's probably going to last until at least March.  I now have to do 12-1/2 hours OT each week for the next two weeks.  I have to do 25 hours total and can work it however I want, which is good.  I'll most likely be working from 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week, and will have to put in about 4 hours on Saturday mornings.   If I work much past 4 p.m. I start to make stupid mistakes because my brain is tired, so I know it's time to stop.  I may stop working earlier and then go back to work a couple hours later, but with everything there is to do, it'll probably be easier to just work until 4 and be done for the day and put in some extra hours on Saturday.  I don't know.  I guess I'll figure it out as the week goes by.  I must say, it's a whole lot easier doing all this overtime when my office is just downstairs and I can go to work at anytime and don't have to drive anywhere! I am truly blessed to have been able to work from home for the last four years.  It just makes life so much easier.

When I was working outside, I realized something.  When Greg was home, he'd be working inside and outside and he'd always have his outside radio on, either listening to a Brewer game, or cranking up some music, and he'd have YouTube playing on the computer in his office.  While I usually have a TV on when I'm home (sometimes just for background noise), I realized that it's really very quiet without Greg here and it made me feel quite lonely.  I miss him.  I miss going outside when he's in his office and turning off the radio, or when he's outside, going to his office and stopping whatever he has playing on YouTube.  I miss him grilling steaks for us.  I miss making dinner for him.  I miss his hugs and kisses.  I miss hollering at him when he does something stupid (LOL).  Quite simply, I just miss him.  

Please hug and kiss your loved ones and remind them how much you love them, because you never know when you won't be able to do just that.  

Love, Peace and Prayers, 

Julie

Greg Covid - Day 19 - Infection

Greg did not have the greatest night last night.  They didn't make any changes since yesterday and he is still on 100% on vent, but is continuing to initiate his own breaths.  He has been on and off blood pressure meds.  Some of the cultures came back and show that there is bacteria, but they are not sure what yet.  It needs time to grow so they can figure out exactly what it is.  He's being given broad spectrum antibiotics until they know what it is.  His fever went up to 102.6, but at 5:45 this morning, it was down to 100.7 now.  His sedation was turned up a little bit because he was very uncomfortable and not breathing well.  His temp went up, heart rate went up, oxygen was dropping, etc.  Everything evened out after sedation was turned up.  His oxygen levels also went back up.   

Greg's Immunologist and his CCU (Critical Care Unit) doctors spoke today and decided that it would be a good idea to restart his IVIG infusions. They also agreed that they could use the medication that we get from the specialty pharmacy, rather than trying to order it themselves.  The medication is very expensive ($12,000/month), and we are required to get it from the Optum Specialty Pharmacy.  I'm not sure if insurance would cover it if the hospital pharmacy ordered it.   

So, I had to find time to get to the hospital today.  I worked until three, and then had to take Mater to the vet, which was 20 miles northwest of us.  Mater had a huge area under his ear that he had been scratching and it was all icky and infected, and I wasn't able to really clean it good.  Turns out, he not only had yeast in that ear, but also had bacteria, so a nasty ear infection.  They cleaned up the side of his face and cleaned his ears up and gave me antibiotics and ear medicine for him.  $200 later, and we were on our way to the hospital with Greg's infusion meds and supplies.  The hospital was 35 miles south of the vet and instead of dropping Mater off at home (would add extra miles), he came with to the hospital.  It was cool enough out (in the 40's), so there was no problem leaving him in the car while I went up to the CCU.  Because Greg is in the isolation area, I still couldn't see him, even though I was right there, but I was able to wait in the waiting room for his nurse to come and get the meds and supplies I had for them.   

A different nurse came out and I tried to explain how to do the infusion, but I wasn't very hopeful that she understood what I was saying.  I then asked if I could talk to Greg's nurse and agreed to wait, as they were busy "changing Greg's lines" at the time. 

About a half hour later, Greg's doctor came out to talk to me.  She said that Greg has an infection in his blood.  As I was told earlier this morning, they have to wait for the cultures to finish growing so they know exactly what they're dealing with and know exactly what antibiotics to use to combat the infection.  Because it was in his blood, she said that they decided to change all his "lines" (he has 4), and they sent the lines to the lab to be analyzed as well.    

She said that once they get the infection under control, Greg should start doing much better.  So I am very hopeful.  Please pray that they are able to figure this out and get him on whatever antibiotics they need to get rid of this infection! 

A short while ago, I got a call from Greg's night nurse, Maureen.  They had never done an infusion like what I give to Greg, so she wanted detailed instructions from me as to how to give it to him.  I was so happy she called, because I was worried that they might not be comfortable having me tell them how to do the infusion.   I was able to walk her through it all and I'm sure she will manage without too much of a problem.  If Greg was awake, he could have told her what to do, too.  

I'm hopeful that Greg will be negative for Covid on Monday, and then I can give him the infusion at the hospital next Friday!  Maureen even said I could show the other nurses how to do it!  Ha!   I'm also hopeful that the infusion will help Greg's body to fight the infection. 

On the way home from the hospital, I stopped at Erica and Robby's house to pick up some food that Erica had cooked for me because the kids are concerned that I'm not eating well enough (which, I'm not) .  She made some lasagna and a chicken, bacon, ranch casserole -- all packaged in individual aluminum trays that I can just toss in the oven to heat and eat!  Thank you, Erica!  I forgot to mention earlier that Abby also gave me some beef jerky that she made and some yummy homemade banana bread!  Both are amazing, Abby!  Totally impressed with your first venture into making beef jerky!  

I ended up putting on about 81 miles today with all that running around.  I guess that's what you get for living in the middle of nowhere!  

Here we have "Greg, the Chicken Whisperer"!  Ha!  He had a bowl of treats for them and they were all very excited about that!  This was taken on 03.21.2009, and it looks like it was a warm-ish early spring day!   Our chickens are kind of trained, in that if we holler "here, chick, chick, chick" they will come running because we usually are calling them to give them treats.  This way, when we need to get them in the coop or something, they will come running (like Pavlov's dogs). Chickens are like little dinosaurs and will eat absolutely anything.   They love "clean out the fridge day" because if it's not a fuzzy science experiment, I throw it out for them and they gobble it up!

Please continue to pray for Greg.  We need prayers that the doctors will be able to figure out what the infection is and they are able to find the right antibiotics to get rid of it so Greg's body can begin to heal.   Please pray for all the staff that are caring for him, and all the other Covid patients, and everyone who is in the hospital.  God hears us!  His timing is always perfect and I believe in my heart of hearts that He is rolling up his sleeves to fight this infection and blowing His life-giving breath into Greg's lungs.  

Love, Peace and Prayers, 

Julie 

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Greg Covid - Day 18 - Not Many Changes

I spoke with Greg's nurse early this morning. He had a pretty good night and seemed to be comfortable most of the night.  She said that because of the trach, they lose some of the lung build up that they made progress with so he is still 100% on the vent and they left him there overnight.  He is still on CPAP mode, so he’s initiating the breathes.   They did lighten up his sedation a little at the beginning, but seemed to do some “belly breathing” on the vent, so they changed the sedation back.   

It is fairly normal to lose some of the lung build up when given a trach and the patient just needs to build that back up afterwards.  The goal is to try to start weaning down his oxygen as he will tolerate and go down on sedation as he tolerates.  She said "I think he’s tolerating it really well for the first night.  The body has to adjust."  

 

I spoke with his day nurse this afternoon.  She said Greg is doing really well with the trach.  They are trying to wean down his sedation and he is starting to open his eyes, but he is not following commands yet.  They are trying to find nice balance.  He has been on and off blood pressure meds to keep his blood pressure up.  

 

They would like to keep the sedation very light as it needs to fully work out of his system, at which point he should wake up and start following commands.  They are being cautious because his blood pressure goes up every time they lower it.  They need to do it slowly enough that he doesn’t get super agitated as it can be shock to his system.  

 

His blood pressure could be going up because he’s in pain so we talked Greg’s "at home" pain meds for his back and Lyrica for his nerve pain.  She is going to talk to the doctor about restarting those meds.  

 

I also spoke to Greg's doctor this afternoon.  He said there hasn’t been any significant change in his condition  They are trying to bring down sedation.  He is on a lot pain meds right now, and they will restart his Lyrica tonight.  They want to restart his IVIG infusions, but do not have the meds on hand, so the pharmacy was going to order it.  I told him that we have to get it from the specialty pharmacy through Optum and I didn't know if it would be covered any other way (it's very, very expensive).  He then spoke to the pharmacist again and canceled the order.  I am going to bring the medication and all the supplies tomorrow after work.  I have to had it directly to the nurse and sign some sort of form indicating that this is "home medication" and the nurse will send it to the pharmacy (I'm assuming to make sure it's not something that was tampered with) and then the pharmacy will send it back to the nurse and that way we are not charged for it.  I asked the doctor if they have spoken with Greg's Immunologist (immunologists are doctors who diagnose, treat, and work to prevent immune system disorders) about restarting the IVIG infusions, and he said no, that they only spoke to the pharmacist.  Seeing as they did not want to restart the IVIG last week because they were suppressing his immune system (standard), they didn't want to give him anything to boost it.  He agreed to speak with the immunologist tomorrow.  I will feel better knowing that this has been discussed with the immunologist.   

 

The doctor assured me that the issues that Greg is having are normal.  

This picture of Greg was taken in July, 2019.  For Father's Day that year, I gave him a gift certificate to a hotel in Minocqua for us to spend a few days away!  This picture was taken at Wildwood Wildlife Park and Zoo.  I think Greg was contemplating dinner!  Ha!! 

As always, please continue your prayers for Greg.  Pray that they are able to lower the sedation and he's able to start waking up.   

Love, Peace and Prayers, 

Julie

Greg Covid - Day 17 -- Tracheostomy Surgery Today!

Greg's tracheostomy surgery was scheduled for 10:45 a.m. today, but the previous surgery must have gone late, because it did not happen at that time.  Around 11:30, the anesthesiologist came out to talk to me and have me sign the consent for the anesthesia, and he reassured me that he felt Greg would do well.   

I was off work today and sat in the Family Waiting Room at the hospital, and actually ended up taking a bit of a nap while waiting.  While napping, I heard a woman say "Julie for Greg" and perked right up!  She told me that Greg's surgery started at 1:28.  I was a bit shocked, because that's WAY later than I was told, but OK.  I started thinking about what I was going to do, and decided I needed to step outside for a bit, so I went up to the desk to let the woman know that I would be gone for a short period of time.  She was on the phone at the time, and when she got off the phone, I again heard "Julie for Greg."  I looked at her like, yep, that's still me!  She told me that the doctor wanted to speak with me and I should wait in one of the little conference rooms.  Now, this was at about 1:45, and there's no way the surgery was done in that short amount of time, and the doctor would be cleaned up and able to see me, so once again, I'm imagining the worst, even though I was thinking that there's no way something bad happened that quickly, either!  

The doctor came in and saw my panicked face and immediately told me that Greg was fine!  The surgery went well and he had no problems and that Greg was resting comfortably.  Praise God!  

Seeing as I couldn't see Greg, I left the hospital and stopped at Walmart to buy a bunch more stuff for the nurses and came back and dropped it off for them.  I spoke with Martin, Greg's nurse, around 6:15 p.m. and he said that Greg was doing well, and had "less bleeding than normal, because there's always some bleeding with a trach."  So that's good.  They have the vent attached to the trach, but it's in a supportive role.  Greg is doing a lot of the breathing on his own and his "peep" is down to 8 (normal is 5-8), so that's another positive sign!  For anyone that wants to know more about the "peep," and what it is, here is a link with a pretty good, simple explanation: https://www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk/mechanical-ventilation-peep-positive-end-expiratory-pressure/  

Martin told me that they will not start to lower Greg's anesthesia until about 24 hours after the trach surgery.   At that point, they will start waking him up a little at a time, as tolerated.   

Please continue your prayers that Greg does well with the trach and is able to tolerate having the anesthesia lowered.  Please pray that his Covid is gone (they will test on Monday), and that he is finally on the long road to recovery!  You have no idea how much your prayers are appreciated, and we have proof that God is listening with how well Greg is doing!  I appreciate everyone's support and concern for me, as well.  It means the world to me and I know Greg will be touched when he reads all the messages.  

Today's picture of Greg is again an old picture!  This one was also taken over 30 years ago and we were not even married yet.  Greg had never been to Rib Mountain here in North Central Wisconsin before.  He's afraid of heights, but I was able to convince him to climb the tower with me!  Gotta love those shorts, eh?!  And notice the farmer hankie attached to his belt loop!  Ha!  

Love, peace and prayers to all! 

Julie

 

Greg Covid - Day 16 -- Tracheostomy Surgery Tomorrow!

I spoke with Greg's nurse early this morning and he had a good night.  HIs temperature was hovering right around 101.  She changed his vent settings and he seemed to tolerate it a little better.   His peep was down to 8, which was good.  The vent is at 60% and on CPAP mode again.  He seems to be doing a lot better with that.    

I spoke with his doctor around 1:15 p.m., but after about a minute or so of conversation, suddenly I heard a lot of commotion in the background and I heard someone say "he coded."  Then Greg's doctor said "he coded?"  He then told me that there was an emergency and he had to go and would call me back.  He called back about 25 minutes later and let me tell you that those were the LONGEST 25 minutes of my life!   I was trying to work and pray that it wasn't Greg, and that if it was that he'd be OK, and if it wasn't that whoever it was would be OK.    When the doctor called me back I immediately asked if it was Greg and he said no, and then I asked if the person who did was OK and he said yes, he is OK.  So, praise God that everyone was OK after that scare!   

His surgery has been rescheduled for 10:45 a.m., and I will be at the hospital to speak with the doctor when the surgery is done.  Unfortunately, I was told today that Greg cannot be tested again for Covid until 20 days from first diagnosis, so he can't be tested again until Monday, which means that I will not be able to see him tomorrow.   I'm pretty bummed about that, but there is nothing I can do about it.  

The next news the doctor gave me was that they have decided NOT to give Greg the PEG (feeding) tube tomorrow.  I asked why and he said that they believe Greg will be able to recover enough to eat on his own at this point without needing a feeding tube!  I was a little leery, so I asked him point blank:  "or, does it mean that you don't think he'll make it, so why bother with the feeding tube?"  He immediately assured me that if they didn't think he was going to make it, they wouldn't even do the trach."  So, that is good news!  All the prayers are working!  

I'm starting to look at long-term care facilities, and there are a few in the Colby-Abbotsford area that are in-network with our insurance, so I'll start doing some investigating and impromptu visits so I can get him in the best facility possible when the time comes.  

So, that's the update for today.  Greg is holding steady and I'm praying that once he's got the trach he'll really start turning around.  He doesn't like the vent and "fights" it when they try to turn the anesthesia down, and doesn't breathe properly and his blood pressure goes up, so with the trach, he'll be a lot more comfortable, and they'll be able to reduce his anesthesia and he'll start getting better and better!  

Today's picture of Greg is one that just cracks me up!  This is one from an old photo album, so I had to take a picture of it with my cell phone.  It wasn't the best quality to begin with, but it's still a pretty awesome pic! 

Before we were married (I think about 1985 or so), we were tent camping in one of Wisconsin's beautiful State Parks (I don't remember which one).  Greg always had really bad allergies prior to his transplant (thanks, Tommy for not having allergies!) and if you know Greg, you know that to this day, he always has a farmer hankie with him.  At the time of this pic, Greg and I were playing frisbee, and his hankie was getting, uhm, shall we say ucky, so he tied it on the power line thingee to dry out and would walk over there to blow his nose whenever he needed to!  He's such a goofball!  Is it any wonder I fell in love with him?  

Please continue your prayers for Greg!  Please pray that his surgery goes well tomorrow, without any complications.  Pray for a good night for him tonight, and pray that his fever comes down. 

Greg Covid - Day 15 -- Tracheostomy Surgery is Scheduled

I spoke with Nurse Julie last night around 9:15 p.m.  She really helped to alleviate my fears about Greg getting the trach.  She said that it's better to have a trach than have a vent and that it's more about a prolonged type thing, as far as having a tube go down the throat that way.  She said that they have a lot of covid patients that have a trach and most are doing pretty good in a long term acute care unit.  A trach is not forever, but there is more risk for damage and complications from leaving the vent in and being intubated for so long.  She has another patient that has a trach and is off medication to sedate him and is able to communicate, able to smile, etc.  

In order to not need the trach, he would have to be able to hold his oxygen and come down on the vent settings, and then turn off vent and specialized mask that fits across the trach to give supplemental oxygen.  When he doesn’t need that, then the trach would be able to be removed.  He may have to have a PEG tube (a feeding tube that he had when he has esophageal cancer).  He would also work with a speech therapist to get muscles in throat working again, then assess how well he can feed himself, and make sure he can eat normally before removing the PEG tube.   

She said he’s not happy when they go down on sedation.  He did open his eyes when he heard my voice on the phone, but his BP went up.  Hmmm, what's he trying to tell us!  Ha!  (Yes, I made a joke there)  As long as he gets through this, he would be able to get back to things like before.  He’s doing OK on the current vent settings and is holding steady.  The trach will buy him more time with less damage to his vocal cords.  Once he is well enough to leave ICU, then he would go to a to long term care facility.   

The body’s response to the virus is what causes problems for people.  It's an over-reaction of immune system to the virus.  Covid is mainly in nasal, pharynx area and then settles in the lungs.  The immune system basically attacks the lungs and causes the problems with oxygenation.  That’s why they use steroids, which will knock down the immune system so it’s not so over-reactive.  Once the immune system realizes there is no longer a threat, that’s when it calms down.  

I spoke with Nurse Julie again at about 5:50 this morning.  Overnight was pretty much uneventful.  They had to adjust his blood pressure meds, but he's been at same rate for about 5 hours now and holding steady.  Otherwise everything is pretty much the same.   Vent is at 55%.  

I checked our insurance and a skilled nursing/extended care facility is covered for up to 120 days per year, so we have good coverage. Because it’s the end of the year, he could possibly have six months of coverage (2 months in 2021 and 4 more months in 2022) if he would have to stay that long.  

ARound 1:15 p.m. today, I spoke to Nurse Martin.  He said Greg was having a little better day today.  He was able to decrease the sedation and blood pressure meds, but the vent is still at 60%.  He looks better today than yesterday and actually said  “He looks so much more comfortable on the vent.”   He said they tweaked a few things, but he is still requiring same amount of oxygen, but definitely more comfortable today.   He also said that a trach will be a lot more comfortable for him and we can wean his sedation more.   Martin also told me: “I’ve been doing this 11 years, and I’m pretty good at figuring out who will make it on the trach, and I think he has a really good chance.” 

I had to take mom to Marshfield for an appointment with her bone doctor, and just as we were about to get on the elevator, Greg's surgeon's resident called me.  As I was already on the campus, and seeing as I had to sign for the surgery, it made sense to go to their office when I was done with mom.  Turns out their office was right across the hall from mom's doctor!  Greg's surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 8:30 a.m.   Some hospitals will not do a surgery if the patient still has covid, but Marshfield said that in situations such as Greg's, they will do the surgery whether he tests positive or not.  Obviously, we want him to test negative!   The surgery generally takes about an hour, but they are allowing 1-1/2 hours, due to Greg's history of esophageal cancer.  They don't want to rush anything.  After the surgeon left, his resident told me that if his wife or kids needed a surgery like this, this is the surgeon he would want to do it, because he’s the best!  That gives me some reassurance. 

I am going to take off work Wednesday to be at the hospital.  If Greg tests negative, then I should be able to see him after the surgery!   All in all, I'm feeling a little better than I was yesterday.  The nurses did a great job of reassuring me, and I'm happy with everything the surgeon and his resident told me.  It's going to be a long recovery for Greg, but since when does he ever do things the easy way?   

Please continue your prayers for Greg.  Please specifically pray that his fevers come down and he tests negative for Covid!  Pray for his doctors and especially his surgeon and that the surgery for the trach goes without any complications.  Pray that the trach will work for him and he is able to start a full-fledged recovery.  If you don't know what to pray, or how to pray, just say "Jesus."  That is a prayer all in itself and He knows what Greg needs and what you are trying to say.    

Today's picture is an old one, and probably my favorite picture of him, ever!  I don't think he was even 30 years old yet (probably around 1984 or 1985)!  This was taken by his cousin, Joe, when he was studying photography and developing pictures (way back in the dark ages!).  I had this picture on my desk for years and years and years.  There's just something about it.  The bibs, the towel around his neck (he had been doing dishes when Joe recruited him), the hand on the hip, the dark glasses . . .  Yep, that's my Iron Man!  

Love, peace and prayers to all!  

Julie 

 

Greg Covid - Day 14 -- Doctor Report Not Very Good

Greg's doctor called me around 5 p.m. today.  He did not have very good news.  There has been no change since this morning and he seems more comfortable.  He's been on the vent for 10 days now and may end up requiring a tracheostomy (trach)  The can connect the vent directly to tube in the throat, so we can avoid sedation   He stated that Greg "would need to go to long term facility if he is able to survive from the Covid."  He would continue recovery with occupational and physical therapy so that he could eventually go home.  

They have not found anything growing in cultures, except for what they found in the tube.  That means there’s an infection in the lung, because the lung is producing secretion and they cultured the secretion.  As stated previously, he is on Vancomycin, which is the antibiotic for this.  

The hard question if he’s going to turn around in next 3-4 days.  They were hoping to extubate last week, but he wasn’t doing well, so now he is not anytime soon to be extubated because he’s requiring 55% oxygen through the vent.  Normal is 21%.  He is also requiring extra pressure to keep his lungs open.  His pressure is 12.  A normal person requires 5, so Greg's numbers are pretty high and means his lungs are still not functioning well and he requires a high level of support.  A trach can give more room to continue the vent.  He is not liking the vent and was trying to fight the vent.   By "fighting" the vent, what is happening is that Greg's breathing is not matching the vent.  They need his breathing to follow the machine.  When they reduce the sedation and he wakes up little, he realizes the machine is doing the breathing for him and he may be breathing too quickly, so they need to increase sedation.  When I asked the doctor why they can't have the vent follow Greg's breathing, he said because his lungs are not functioning well and if the machine followed him, he would develop low oxygen in his blood because his lungs are sick.  The more sedation he receives, the more weakness that he’ll develop in the chest muscles and other muscles.  

The doctor said that Greg is more likely to be awake on the trach and that people tolerate a trach better than vent and they can cut down on sedation.  Some people may not like the trach and vent and still require sedation, so Greg may still require sedation.  He said that some people may not be able to come out of the vent, even with a trach.  He said they are trying to find a good balance between the breathing machine and sedation.  We go day by day. Obviously, they will continue his care and try to minimize complications from the vent and the treatment. 

The kids and I talked about all this, and based on my discussions with Greg in July, after his last hospitalization, he wanted us to do whatever was necessary, as long as he would not end up a vegetable.  So, if it comes to it, we will tell the doctors to do the trach.  If there's a chance that he can fight this and come home, then we need to try.  

I feel as though the doctors are almost required to give worst-case scenarios and don't want to get anyone's hopes up when their loved ones are so sick.  But, they don't know Greg!  They don't realize how hard he's fought to live for the last 29 years!  I remember one new doctor a year or so ago, read Greg's chart prior to him coming in and was amazed that he was even walking!  He said he had no idea what to expect, based on all the health problems he's had.  That's my Iron Man!  I feel like these doctors are kind of thinking the same thing.  The nurses have all been much more hopeful in their conversations with me.  I just have to continue to hope and pray for the best.  My mind just will not wrap around the thought of him not making it through this.  

Greg will be tested for Covid on Tuesday or Wednesday and if he is negative, then we will be able to visit him, as he can come out of isolation.  

Please continue your most fervent prayers!  Greg needs all of us to pray as hard as possible.  I pray that God's will is the same as mine, and that is to restore Greg and bring him home.  I don't even know what else I can say.  I don't know what to think and I'm just kind of numb right now.   

Continuing with pictures of Greg, the picture below of Greg and his brother, Gary, is over 30 years old and just proves that Greg was a superhero long before he was Iron Man!   Who else can claim to be both Batman AND Iron Man!  No one that I know!  

Greg Covid - Day 14 I kind of "talked" to Greg last night!

 I spoke with Greg's nurse, Julie, last night.  I really like her!  She's very sweet and easy to talk to.  Greg is doing OK, but they had to turn on norepinephrine for his blood pressure, because it was getting quite low.  They turned on around 5:30.  She said they can run a very low dose through a regular IV, but if you start running it higher, there is risk of damaging the vessel.  Doctors talked it over and decided to put a central line in again at around 7 p.m.  They will assess and make sure that he doesn’t need the norepinephrine any more before removing it.  Otherwise, no significant change today.  He vent is on PRVC mode, which allows for different settings, as opposed to spontaneous mode.  He was having a little more difficulty breathing, so they decided to keep him on this mode and increased sedation a little to help him relax more.  Right now his rate on the vent is 18 and his respiratory rate is 24-25, so he still breathing over the vent, but not in the 40’s. 

His temperature is still fluctuating, so he is still on Tylenol.  Currently at 102.4.  "We have seen a trend with covid patienst having very fluctuating temps.  It varies greatly."  They also turned the temperature down in his room to help keep him cool .  

Otherwise, things are all right.  It would be better if he didn’t need the blood pressure meds due to low blood pressure.   It’s still going to be a long process and he's going to have some ups and downs.  This is something that we see and sometimes the down will take several days of being down before he starts back up again.  It can really vary a lot.  Every patient is different. 

When I started talking to Julie about how hard it is to not be able to see him, or hold his hand, or even talk to him, she suggested that she could call me from Greg's room and prop the phone next to his ear so I could talk to him.  So, ten minutes later, she called me back and I spent 15 minutes talking to Greg, telling him how much I love him and how much we all need him to fight and get better, because we need him home, his kids need him home, the dogs (Mater especially) need him home.  I told him that there were hundreds and hundreds of people praying for him and that Jesus was sitting right there with him and breathing his life-giving breath into his lungs.  I don't know if he could hear me or not, but I'm praying he did.  As expected, I was a blubbering fool for most of the conversation. 

I spoke to Nurse Martin before church today and Greg was pretty much the same.  The vent is at 55%, which is not too bad.  He didn't really have much more to say.  

Today's picture is from when we hiked through the Dells of the Eau Claire a few years back, well probably about ten years back.   

Greg Covid - Day 12

 I spoke with Greg's nurse and doctor around 11:30 this morning.  The nurse didn't tell me too much, but said the doctor wanted to talk to me and the doctor was right there.  So of course, I'd rather talk to the doctor!  

Basically, he is doing quite stable from overnight to today.  He is on 60% oxygen and had no major fevers overnight, but his temp is still hanging right above 100.  He is still requiring the support on the vent, which requires sedation.  They tried to wind down the sedation today, but he was not very comfortable and was breathing fast on the vent, so they had to turn it back up.   They will try again tomorrow.   

With regard to the IVIG, they are going to contact his immunologist on Monday.  If there is no contraindication, they will restart it.  He is being given steroids to decrease his immune response and Covid in the later phase is a hyper-immune state, so we are trying to suppress the immunities here and protect the lungs.  "We don’t know what’s the benefit and harm because of the lack of research" which is why they want to speak with the immunologist.  This makes sense to me, so I don't mind waiting to see what the immunologist thinks.  If this is something that could help Greg, maybe it's also something that could help other people?    

In terms of delirium, he is not agitated today, which is good.  We will continue what we are doing and try to avoid any other complications being on the vent.  They did repeat cultures of his sputum to ensure there is no infection of the breathing tube.  Greg is already on Vancomycin, so he’s on good coverage.   He will call if anything changes, but Greg is pretty stable. 

So, it was a good night and a good day so far.  I plan on calling again after their 7 p.m. shift change, so probably around 8:30 or so.   I know they will call me if anything starts getting worse, so I'm pretty comfortable with things right now.  

I spent the day getting a lot of work done around the house.  First was a trip to the dump with this week's garbage, and some extra stuff that needed to be gone.  When I came home, I decided that while it was still nice outside, I'd get some outside work done and spent about 4-5 hours working out there.  Mom came over and washed the dishes that I had, which wasn't much, but still needed to get done.  I cleaned up the deck and got it ready for winter, putting the table umbrella away in the garage, tipping the table on it's side and moving it close to the garage, putting stuff away in the deck box, moving and covering Greg's grill and generally just cleaning stuff up and putting stuff away for winter.  I also cleaned a bunch of stuff up in the garage and did some work in the chicken coop, adding fresh bedding and scraping down their roosts, etc.  I also got some other stuff put away in mom's shed and took the trailer for the lawn mower and put it away for the winter behind mom's shed, under some heavy plastic.  

While I was working outside, our neighbors, Mike and Sue came over, having just found out what was happening with Greg, and asked if I needed any help with anything, which was very sweet.  Erica and Robby stopped over as well, which was nice, too. 

Erica also went to the store and bought a boatload of stuff from her, Robby, Abby, Aaron and Rachel to take to the nurses in the Covid ICU.  She got them things like Powerade, trail mix, hair ties, hand lotion, gum, mints, candy, chips, popcorn, hot cocoa packets, etc. and included a card thanking them for everything they're doing.  Seeing as she delivered that today, I probably will wait until later in the week to bring another box of goodies for them.  We really want them to know how much we appreciate everything they are doing, not just for Greg, but for all their patients!  They deserve it, and so much more!  

I've got dinner cooking right now, and it's actually the first real meal that I've cooked since Greg was admitted.  I just haven't been very hungry, and did not want to cook any sort of normal meal.  I made a stuffed chicken breast that I got at Tower Chicken in Milwaukee last year, (Greg is not a huge fan of them), and an acorn squash that I bought before Kris and Mike gave me a bunch of spaghetti squash and a baked potato.  Should be a nice meal.  I'm saving the steaks that are in the freezer for when Greg comes home, because he loves a nice thick medium rare steak more than anything!  

Please continue your prayers for Greg.  While he's doing well, we really need to see some improvements start happening.  I know, I know.  Baby steps.  But at least one baby step forward is something I really need to hear!  

Today's picture of Greg is another "selfie" that he took in the elevator at the Royal on the Park hotel we stayed at in Brisbane!  He's such a goof!   (Helpful hint:  click on the picture to see a bigger version!)

Take care, everyone.  Love, Peace and Prayers, 

Julie