For Scott and Shannon Bruegge, COVID-19 was an ordeal.
Scott Bruegge, of Tonganoxie, noticed symptoms around mid-March, he said at a news conference Tuesday at the University of Kansas Health System.
A test that took five or six days to get results confirmed it was COVID-19, and his condition worsened. He had a cough, low-grade fever, then later lost his sense of taste and smell, had a higher fever, diarrhea, aches and shortness of breath.
Shannon dropped him off at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Because of rules for visitors, she was only able to see him a limited number of times.
Dr. Krishna Rangarajan, LMH Health pulmonologist, recalled that after admission, Bruegge’s condition worsened at night, and he had to be intubated by emergency room physicians.
It took 10 days on the ventilator for him to slowly start to recover, Dr. Rangarajan said. The reality of Scott’s situation was pretty grim, he said, because once patients got on a ventilator, often they didn’t do well. They hoped Scott’s age was in his favor. He slowly improved.
Bruegge, who had never been hospitalized before, said it was probably a month until he got back to his old self. Walking was a challenge at first, he said. He lost a little muscle in his upper body, and had to get it back to start helping with groceries and cooking.
“It really brought to light, once a disease course sets in, how detrimental it can be,” said Dr. Christopher Brychel, an infectious disease specialists at LMH.
Care of the COVID-19 patients has changed since then, with remdesivir and convalescent plasma available now, he said.
Lawrence and Douglas County have changed in case numbers, also since that time, he said. Douglas County is nearly 1,400, and a few months ago it was in the single digits, he said. They had some upticks in cases with the Phase 3 reopening, along with bars reopening. Masking went into effect and bars closed, with the numbers going down, he added.
Now with increased testing of students entering KU, they are seeing a sharp uptake in cases, with 800 of the 1,400 cases coming from the 18 to 24 age group, Dr. Brychel said.
Continuing to screen, quarantine, isolate positive cases, hand hygiene and wearing masks will be crucial to having a school year and for the health and welfare of the community, he said.
Bruegge had some advice for other people: “Until we’re out of this, until there is a vaccine, wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands often and sanitize. Treat everyone like they have this. Love each other and pray.”
The University of Kansas Health System reported 27 acute COVID-19 patients on Tuesday morning, down from 36 on Monday morning, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. There were six patients in the intensive care unit and four on ventilators. In addition, there are 32 COVID-19 patients recovering, and past the acute phase, who are in the hospital, he said.
Wyandotte County reported an additional 28 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday afternoon, with a cumulative total of 5,953. There was one additional death, for a cumulative total of 114.
Free testing offered
Free COVID-19 testing is planned from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, at Judson Baptist Church, 8300 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.
The tests are offered through Swope Health and the Health Equity Task Force.
Free testing also is offered for those who live and work in Wyandotte County from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Unified Government Health Department parking lot at 6th and Ann, Kansas City, Kansas. For more information, call 311.
For more information on who may be tested and what to bring, visit https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.
To see the KU doctors’ news conference, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/328701164913733.
The UG COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
The KC Region COVID-19 Hub dashboard is at http://marc-gis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/1c93961075454558b3bf0dfad014feae.
The Unified Government Health Department is collecting input on people’s experiences getting tested for COVID-19 in Wyandotte County. The survey is on the UG website at https://us.openforms.com/Form/ea97a450-3d74-4d86-8d1f-6e340d55cf7c.
The UG Health Department sports order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/08132020localhealthofficerorderregardingsports.pdf.
The Wyandotte County school start order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
Wyandotte County is under a mandatory mask order and is in Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan. For more information, residents may visit the UG COVID-19 website at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information or call 311 for more information.
The CDC’s COVID-19 web page is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.