Dr. Adeline Fagan, a 2018 graduate of Jacobs School of Medicine at U Buffalo, has died from brain hemorrhage after spending over 2.5 months in the ICU on ventilator.
Although Dr. Fagan was a resident in OB/GYN, she was assigned to work 12 hour shifts in the Emergency Department during June and July when Houston hospitals were being overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients.
Fagan was placed on ventilator and when that wasn’t providing enough oxygen to her body, she was placed on ECMO (Extracorporal Membrane Oxygenation). She also received several experimental medications–none of which provided any improved in her condition.
Dr. Fagan’s family has opened a GoFundMe account to help cover her expenses not cover by her health insurance, her funeral costs, and travel expenses incurred by her family.
I don’t have words… so sad… and scary. May medical advances happen quickly, but they won’t help here. I can only imagine the grief of her family and friends.
It is shocking. I know people locally who contracted Covid-19 that were in high risk groups who have survived and someone this young went through 2.5 months of hospitalization and didn’t.
One person in 70s received what was considered experimental antibody blood transfusion back in May and survived.
In PA as of this typing, 269 people aged 100+ have contracted Covid. “Only” 119 died from it meaning over half survived.
Yet this 28 year old doctor died.
In PA 14 people aged 20-29 have died, though most survive. Not all had underlying conditions either including a 20 year old football player for one of our state schools.
The 20 year old football player did have a condition that made him at-risk for covid per CDC…he was obese with a bmi >30. He was actually morbidly obese with a bmi >40.
This study (not yet peer reviewed of course) shows that obese individuals are more likely to be infected with covid, and more likely to have a severe case with higher mortality.
@Mwfan1921 I had not seen that with the football player. Thanks for updating. I have seen where obesity is a big risk factor.
Here where we are in VA the local news just reported VA’s first youth death - someone in their teens. That’s all they would say. I wish they would give more health info than that. I completely understand not telling all, but comorbidities (or not) can be helpful.
Age is definitely one factor, but over half of all age groups survive at this point. There are certainly other factors. I wonder what the percentages would be by BMI.
@Creekland the youth was in the health district next to mine. I saw one online comment to the local news report stating that the youth had other significant issues, but it didn’t go further than that. I, too, wish they would.
The trouble for me is I know a lot of people who have asthma, often get colds or the flu, and have had pneumonia. They get sick more often than some of us do. Yet in general they are quite healthy.
It’s similar to how a BMI over 30 or high blood pressure can be a risk. I know a lot of people in those categories.
I have a D with severe asthma. I’m not sure if the reference to this young doctor’s medical history is supposed to be comforting for those of us that are lucky enough to be asthma free? Or what is the purpose? The prospect of my D being infected with Covid terrifies me.
VA doesn’t break down numbers over 80 the way PA does.
I’ve noted that VA has smaller death percentages throughout the ages, even though some of their cases are higher. My guess is that’s due to their increase coming much later in the pandemic than PA’s. Medically more was known. It gives support to the thought I’ve heard that if one is going to catch it, later is better than sooner.
PA (and NY, NJ, etc) got hit hard in the beginning when a lot less was known (like proning) and plasma, Remdesivir, etc, weren’t options.
Medical advances seem to definitely be helping. Kudos to the researchers.
I don’t see facts like that as comforting as much as more of a “beware” notice. I’ve noted that most folks over age 90 still survive, but my FIL has one lung and heart issues that are quite significant besides his age. We interpret that advice to be extra cautious around him. His odds don’t look good. We all feel if he catches it he’s the poster child for someone who won’t make it even though he’s out fishing now so doing fine for his age without Covid.
With severe asthma I’d be extra cautious too. No one wants to be “that family in the news.” Best wishes to you.
In my family we just got word last night that my (mid 40s) cousin was just taken off a ventilator and had his feeding tube removed from a ruptured artery near his small intestine. He almost didn’t make it (2 weeks on the ventilator), but is improving now, so should. No one knows why it happened and it’s supposedly the first of its kind that his surgeon had seen. (Not sure exactly how to interpret that - just repeating what my aunt told me.)
The discussion last night though was of Covid. His two kids just started school - high school and intermediate school. His wife still works. What if they bring it home? What if he catches that now? There’s a lot of rejoicing that he’s come this far, but what does the future bring? (Covid, his job, etc) It’s very difficult to know how to proceed. I’m not sure his being in his mid 40s will protect him.
Asthma isn’t on the list of factors that are associated with negative Covid-19 outcomes.
Comorbidities that at any age that put individuals are high risk of Covid-19 complications:
cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, immunocompromised (for any reason), obesity (BMI>30), type 2 diabetes, sickle cell diseases, and ** serious** heart disease (i.e. heart failure, cardiomyopathies, coronary artery disease.
The CDC says that there is insufficient evidence that moderate to severe asthma causes an increased risk of negative outcomes from Covid-19. A history of past respiratory infections is also not an indicator of elevated risk. (Unless the individual has COPD.)
(I just had this discussion with both my PCP and my daughter [an ER physician at one of the nation’s top research hospitals where they’ve treated tens of thousands of Covid-19 patients].)
Actually the CDC says those with asthma or pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lungs) **might be at increased risk/b for severe covid infection. Although subtle, that is different than saying there is insufficient evidence of increased risk of negative outcomes.
ETA: it is my understanding that some physicians are telling asthma patients, and others with history of lung infection, to be very careful and take extra precautions.
There is a border county in Texas where a lot of young people have died. I was reading a news story where they were essentially saying people who died were at a BMI of 40 or higher and their age didnt matter.