Family devastated by COVID-19 Local woman raising awareness about donating plasma
There aren’t many positives one can take from losing a loved one to COVID-19, but
Marysville resident Lori Storey plans to use what her family has gone through to help others who might find themselves fighting for their lives in an Intensive Care Unit.
Her family has been through a lot.
Storey’s father, David Wright, died Dec. 1 after spending 21 days battling COVID-19 – the last 11 of which were in an ICU at a Sacramento-area hospital. Wright was 74 when he died but had a lot of life left in him, she said.
“He was very kind, and had a very large circle of family and friends who are just devastated by this loss,” she said. “He was very creative, merciful and kind; he was a wonderful man, and he could fix anything.”
The Wrights came to town to look after their granddaughter while Storey was in the hospital for gallbladder issues, which required surgery. During the few weeks they were in the Yuba-sutter area, Wright became infected with COVID-19.
“He always had his mask on and washed his hands regularly,” Storey said. “We took all of the precautions that were recommended seriously, but one thing that strikes us about this virus is just how random it is. We all got it at the same time, and three of us are fine and one of us is gone. My dad stayed active up until the very end, even though we just went to the places that were essential to go.”
Wright began isolating from the rest of the family after initially showing mild symptoms of COVID-19 on Nov. 11. Around Nov. 16, he started running a fever. They called the doctor and the next day he
went in to get tested. They found his blood oxygen level was low, so he was sent to the hospital, where they discovered he had pneumonia. He was tested for COVID-19 and sent home with antibiotics.
His condition further deteriorated at home. On Nov. 19, his blood oxygen level dropped even lower, which resulted in him checking into the hospital. By Nov. 21, Wright had to be placed in the hospital’s ICU.
“Up until the morning of Nov. 30, we were getting reports that he was making good progress in the ICU. He was making improvements in little steps,” Storey said. “We would call a few times a day to get updates. When we called on the night of the 30th, they said they were working on him after his lung collapsed.”
Doctors were able to stabilize Wright that night, but the next day his other lung collapsed and his heart stopped.
The medical team administered CPR and brought him back, but doctors told Storey and the family that there was nothing more they could do after the virus had destroyed his lungs. The family made the difficult decision to not restart his
heart if it stopped again, which happened later that day.
Adding to the pain, the family was unable to visit Wright while he was in the hospital due to COVID-19 restrictions. The last time they saw him alive was during a video chat the night before he went into the ICU. Communication after that was done through the medical professionals themselves.
“We understood that these nurses needed everyone they could get, so while it was very difficult (to not see him) we understood that they had a job to do,” Storey said. “We would just tell the nurses to tell him that we loved him and that we were all together, because we didn’t want him to think my mom was alone. We know they truly cared about him and they would give him the messages. On the last day, one of the nurses went in and gave him a big hug and told him we loved him. They cared for him like he was their family, and we felt that.”
Both Storey and her mother, Jeanne Wright, were also diagnosed with COVID-19. They
experienced mild symptoms – Storey’s were slightly more severe due to the recent gallbladder surgery she was recovering from – but had they not been tested, they would’ve thought the symptoms were those of a common cold, she said.
Storey and her mother are no longer positive for the virus. Her teenage daughter is still experiencing minor symptoms, but expected to fully recover.
Helping others
During his time in the ICU, Wright was given COVID plasma to help fight the virus. Convalescent plasma donations are taken from individuals who have recovered from COVID-19, and the antibodies within the plasma can give an extra boost to patients battling the disease.
Storey said the plasma seemed to help her father improve early on in the ICU. She educated herself about what it was and started inquiring about how she too could donate, considering she had already had COVID-19.
“I think they can start
collecting it about 30 days after someone recovers,” she said. “They take your blood and filter out the plasma. I think you can do it every two weeks, as long as there are antibodies present.”
Once she’s given the go ahead, Storey plans on donating as much blood as she can in the weeks ahead in hopes of helping out someone else’s family member who enters the ICU due to COVID-19. She plans to donate at the local blood bank, Vitalant – 1290 Stabler Lane, Suite 830, Yuba City.
With numbers spiking, the need will be even greater moving forward. She hopes others who have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies will join in the effort.
“If you are eligible, or if you think you might be eligible, go get tested to donate,” Storey said. “If there is any way to prevent another family from having to go through this, I will do anything I can.
It’s so tragic; it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through.”
For more information on how to donate blood, platelets or COVID plasma in the Yuba-sutter area, go to https://bit. ly/2jbmj01.