COVID-19 Patient Credits Hoag with Speedy Recovery
“The staff at Hoag was incredible. I saw how much work it was for
them, the steps they had to take to get in and out of PPE [or personal
protective equipment]. The gloves, the mask, face shield, gown. It was
a lot of work for them,” he said. “They gave such great care.”
After intense coughing that filled David Brooks with deep concern, the
view out the window of his hospital room gave him hope. He knew he would
be able to return to doing what he loved - being on the water.
David was recovering from a disease that was killing hundreds of thousands
of people worldwide, and he said he has Hoag and much prayer to thank for it.
“I have a friend in Utah, a retired cop, and I heard from mutual
friend that he was on ventilator and going on dialysis due to COVID,”
said David, a retired Costa Mesa Police Department captain. “I had
another friend almost die and is currently learning how to walk again
with a walker. When I got the diagnosis, I had a lot of questions and
concerns. Was I going on a ventilator? How bad is this going to be? And
how long will I be hospitalized?”
David said the tireless staff at Hoag, particularly
Philip Robinson, M.D, medical director of Infection Prevention and Hospital
Epidemiology, put those fears to rest.
“With Dr. Robinson I knew I was in good hands,” David said.
“He made me realize that I was there at a good time, that they caught
it relatively early. I realized how blessed I was, considering the circumstances.”
David and his wife of 50 years, retired Hoag nurse Lynell Brooks, help
to take care of their three grandsons, ages 4 and under. When the grandkids
caught a cold over winter break, they “shared” it with the
rest of the family.
Everyone else got better, but David’s cough stayed with him all the
way to June. When a fever kicked in, and his oxygen levels started to
drop, Lynell sped him to Hoag’s Emergency Department.
He was screened and isolated, diagnosed with pneumonia and COVID-19. The
medical staff placed him on oxygen, with 12 leads crisscrossing his body
that led to two monitors. He was alone, and he was coughing so badly he
felt as though he might vomit from the pain. But from the very beginning,
Hoag kept him comfortable and full of hope.
“Dr. Robinson told me that he wanted to use an experimental drug,
something that works 61% of the time: Remdesivir,” David said. “I
wanted relief, and I thought the odds sounded good. I started it and got
a bit better every day. My cough drastically improved. After my fourth
treatment, I was feeling well.”
Beyond access to clinical trials and the most advanced treatments, David
said the hospital staff’s empathy helped him recover through a trying
and scary experience. From letting his wife bring in a travel mattress
to better accommodate his tall frame to situating him in a room with a
beautiful view of the harbor – which allowed for a ‘sail by’
visit from a dear friend in a new boat to brighten his spirits –
to the kindness and compassion the staff showed him, David said Hoag continuously
went above and beyond.
“The staff at Hoag was incredible. I saw how much work it was for
them, the steps they had to take to get in and out of PPE [or personal
protective equipment]. The gloves, the mask, face shield, gown. It was
a lot of work for them,” he said. “They gave such great care.”
After a six-day hospital stay, David was well enough to go home again,
and he said he is getting stronger every day.
“I’m still recovering, and I have to take a lot of naps,”
he said. “My lung capacity is not what it was, but I am slowly building
back.”