Man’s symptoms became critical quickly

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — It took just a few hours for Shelley York to be placed in intensive care and intubated after he started having serious trouble breathing — his first symptom of covid-19.

The 69-year-old had gone to the doctor a couple of weeks before complaining of an earache. He’d had a heart attack six years earlier but recovered well. Generally, he seemed healthy, said Veranda York, his wife.

When he started having trouble breathing March 25, Veranda and their son, Dominic York, took Shelley to urgent care. An ambulance rushed him to the hospital.

The North Little Rock resident, who others turned to for counsel on life, religion, and lawn and car maintenance, died April 6 at the Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.

Shelley was part of the age-65-and-older population the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says may experience delayed presentation of serious symptoms of the coronavirus, symptoms such as shortness of breath and fever. But once they do, they’re more at risk of dying from them.

Dr. Eric Bravo, chief of staff at Baptist, said most of the people who’ve been put on ventilators at the hospital have been older or have existing conditions.

“If anybody becomes critical, it’s that population,” he said.

Most people who contract the coronavirus will have fever and coughing, according to CDC information. The percentages of patients who experience certain symptoms vary widely — for fatigue, from 44% to 70% of patients; for cough, 59% to 82%.

Symptoms and progression of the virus also have varied widely among patients, said Dr. Keyur Vyas, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Some experience sore throats and coughs, others have high fevers and difficulty breathing. Many may not have any symptoms at all, Vyas said.

“With this being still a very, very new disease, we’re really learning about it every day,” he said. “That’s been a little bit challenging in making sure that we are up-todate.”

Vyas said last week he started seeing more patients who asked to be tested because they’d lost their ability to taste, a symptom scientists recently identified.

“This virus, this disease is a killer emotionally and physically because there’s a new standard,” Veranda York said. “You cannot see your loved one, you cannot express your feelings. It’s awful.”

She said while she believes her husband of nearly 45 years got the best care possible — he requested he be taken to Baptist — she wishes she could have seen him while he was in the hospital. The former nurse said she’s never experienced anything like this virus.

She doesn’t know where Shelley contracted covid-19. They hadn’t been out except to the grocery store. When Shelley did go to the store, Veranda would immediately wash his clothes with a dash of Lysol.

She first met her husband at a card party and was drawn to his kindness. Shelley liked “tinkering with things,” such as cars and lawn mowers. He was a hunter and avid fisherman, Veranda said.

“If somebody needed something fixed, he would go and fix it,” said Shellena York, Shelley’s daughter.

Once, when he was driving his truck home, Shelley saw something fall out of the back of a truck ahead, Shellena said. When he looked more closely, he realized it was a child, so he angled his truck across the road to protect the boy from being hit by other cars.

Shelley won an award for the deed, and the child survived, Veranda said.

At one point during his last illness, Shelley seemed to be doing better, Dominic said.

But things took a turn for the worse, and he experienced kidney failure, something Bravo and Vyas said isn’t uncommon with any serious illness.

Vyas said he’s seen more covid-19 patients who seem to be doing better and suddenly regress.

“Obviously that’s very scary for the patient and for their health care team,” he said.

Dominic considered his father a confidant and adviser. He had planned to take his parents for a long weekend trip to stay at the Bass Pro Shop in Memphis for their anniversary gift. He didn’t mention it to his mother, thinking she’d tell him not to spend the money, but he told his father.

The day Dominic drove his dad to urgent care in March, the two planned to go on a fishing trip the next weekend. He assured his father they would go at the next opportunity.

“I told him he would be out quick,” Dominic said. “That was my last words to him. … It still seems like a nightmare. It still seems unreal.”

Shellena said she’s been busy since her father died, taking care of work that needs to be done after a death, such as dealing with documents and making arrangements.

Adjusting to the new normal has been tough — coping with her father’s death and the ways daily life has changed because of the pandemic, she said.

“You feel like ‘OK, this is something you would see in the movies, and you’re about to wake up or go home and see him walk through the door,” Shellena said. “The reality is just that he’s not.”

Veranda is trying to put her “life together” without her husband. All three Yorks pleaded to the public to follow CDC guidelines for avoiding covid-19.

“Take this seriously. Be cautious. Stay home,” Veranda said.

York