OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – An Oklahoma man is preventing for his life within the intensive care unit at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Middle Friday after 4 months of battling COVID-19 and its aftereffects. He wants a double lung and coronary heart transplant to outlive if taken off a ventilator.
Brian Karnes, his spouse Rebekah, a nurse practitioner and their 5 daughters contracted COVID-19 in March. Rebekah stated she and her husband weren’t vaccinated once they contracted it. Karnes stated her husband is on a ventilator proper now and has even neared the perimeter of loss of life throughout his struggle with the virus. Now, his solely choice to survive is the transplant and, up to now, they haven’t had any luck.
“I simply need an opportunity,” Brian Karnes stated softly in his hospital mattress.
“He simply desires an opportunity,” his spouse Rebekah stated sitting subsequent to him.
It’s been greater than a protracted highway for the 47-year-old father of 5. Inside every week of he and his household contracting the virus, he was the one within the ICU.
“His lungs had been failing, and oxygenation simply wasn’t holding up,” Rebekah stated.
He needed to go on a remedy known as ECMO. Throughout this remedy, the blood is taken from the physique, oxygenated, and put again in, basically bypassing the lungs so Brian may breathe. Rebekah stated she was fearing the worst.
“There’s a number of occasions that we undoubtedly may have misplaced him throughout this course of,” Rebekah stated. “It has been downright terrifying at occasions.”
Nevertheless, Brian determined to struggle. Almost 4 months to the day since he was first admitted to the hospital, he spoke to KFOR with the assistance of a valve.
“I Do not wish to hand over,” Brian stated softly.
Based on Rebekah, Brian had a wake-up second within the hospital the place he got here again to consciousness. Now he’s progressing by means of bodily remedy and dealing on standing up.
“It has been an actual problem,” Rebekah stated.
However the struggle is much from over. The 47-year-old nonetheless wants the double lung and coronary heart transplant. Rebekah stated COVID-19 did a quantity on his lungs inflicting them to be unable to broaden. It additionally brought about proper sided coronary heart failure.
“It has been actually emotional for all of us,” she stated.
Brian runs a clinic in Norman, which is the place Rebekah works. She stated neither of them felt the necessity to get vaccinated as a result of they had been doing largely televisits, together with different precautionary measures like carrying masks and distancing.
“We nonetheless do not know the place any of it got here from,” Rebekah stated. “We do not know the way he received sick.”
Rebekah added that the vaccine has now turn out to be one thing they’re discussing.
“That is undoubtedly one thing that has been a speaking level for us,” she stated.
Now, the complete household is hoping for a miracle.
“We’re in a tough spot,” Rebekah stated.
Based on Rebekah, they had been climbing Mt. Scott and doing outside actions earlier than they received sick. They’re reaching again out to some extra facilities concerning the transplant and are awaiting responses. She says they’ve had finish of life discussions in case the worst does come.
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