'It could happen to anybody': Kenner lawyer, 45, in critical care with coronavirus, wife says

Nola.com ^

[TigerClaws]

Mark Frilot took medicines to treat what he thought for several days was a case of the flu, but he just couldn’t turn the corner.

His fever was spiking nightly. At one point, his wife, Heaven, found him on the edge of their tub talking to himself, delirious.

When he went to East Jefferson General Hospital on Thursday, the staff diagnosed him with double pneumonia and the new coronavirus. Since then the Kenner lawyer has been sedated and attached to a breathing machine as doctors help him fight the potentially deadly respiratory disease that has caused a worldwide pandemic.

Heaven Frilot she could hardly believe it. Her husband is 45, a construction litigator who is “never, ever sick.” But now, after seeing images of groups partying in New Orleans on Saturday despite the state’s request for people to practice “social distancing,” she is speaking up.

“It could happen to anybody,” Heaven Frilot said. “That’s all I’m trying to say.”

When the Frilots checked Mark into the ER the next day, they were astounded when staffers informed him a flu test had come back negative. Heaven Frilot said she asked the hospital to get her husband’s paperwork faxed over from the urgent care clinic. When the documents arrived, they showed he had been found negative for the flu there as well, despite the treatment plan he was given.

The hospital ran the test and, after several hours, it came back positive.

Heaven Frilot said the days since then have been a blur. Stricken with both COVID-19 and double pneumonia, Mark Frilot is in critical care and isolation. He consented to being given a paralytic drug, sedated and put on a ventilator, she said.

Essentially, the machine is breathing for him so his lungs can rest, Heaven Frilot said Sunday.

[over3Owithabrain]

I’m with you 100%. This is madness.

[seowulf]

I had a bout of the flu in the early 90s that sounds about what this guy has.

I had a fever of 103, I was hallicinating, and coughing up chunks of hard, dark green stuff along with blood.

It took 3 weeks to finally get over it, I still looked like I had two black eyes, and I was a healthy, in shape 25 year old at the time.

So, unless you know for sure, it could be “just” the flu.

[for-q-clinton]

wow. I’m thinking there may be more to this than they are telling us. But if they did the real panic would set in.

[Spktyr]

This guy was tested. Flu tests negative, COVID-19 positive.

[little jeremiah]

That’s right - I remember reading that. I never take any of those anyway, I use herbs.

BTW you or someone else might be interested in some of the info on this thread, topics vary widely, yesterday I reposted a bunch of info about dealing with respiratory ailments. I copied part of the article about anti-inflammatories there.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3735908/posts?page=696
Natural Health

[gov_bean_ counter]

Several days???

[seowulf]

I know, but there is no such thing as just the flu.

There are lots of viruses out there all the time that can take people down.

Right now this is the virus of the day.

[madison10]

“just so you all know..market not liking Trump press conference.

On the plus side..Gold is up.

Watch for what bonds do in a few hours”

Any idea what would make the market happy? They are rather fickle these days.

[Blueflag]

OK. here's what to take from this report.

1. he, as an adult, had unchecked fever for days, and then high enough to induce delirium. He and his wife needed to be in the ER hours before this.

2. The report said he had the infection AND double pneumonia. The infection, untreated, progressed into pneumonia in both lungs. If he had gotten professional treatment earlier, the progression in to pneumonia likely could have been treated. Progression to pneumonia is likely THE worst thing to let this do to you.

3. The virus doesn't kill you directly, but the pneumonia sure can, IF untreated. The virus does damage to your lungs during its repeated life cycles (cell invasion, reproduction, cell lysis) that progressively cause your body to shed fluid into your lungs while decreasing the available surface area to exchange gasses. You are slowly letting yourself suffocate/ drown in your own lung fluids if you let this progress.

4. the "flu test" finds an H1N1 or sometimes H2N1 virus- true 'influenza', not the Corona virus. Of course it came back negative. But the docs probably listened to his lungs and did not hear the characteristics sounds of pneumonia because it was too early in the disease progression or they were negligent/ in a hurry.

REGARDLESS of your age, if you spike high fever (above 102 for an adult) go to the ER if fever reducers like aspirin and Tylenol (acetaminophen) don't work. spiking high fever is a key sign of a serious viral infection, whether it's corona or other. FYI bacterial infections tend to go to a high fever, stay there, and then 'break' when your body wins the battle. A virus repeatedly induces fever during its life cycle as it goes through its lysis phases repeatedly. If you have a fever that goes up and down, and get higher with every 'up' ... go get professional medical help.

Fever associated with shortness of breath + productive or unproductive cough and chest pain when breathing means you are already late going to the ER.

[mdmathis6]

It caused a lot of bleeding and tissue toxicity/metabolic acidosis because aspirin was new and people were overdosing on it. It took some time to get the dosages straight. Subsequent flu outbreaks were treated with aspirin for fevers but the dosing was standardized and corrected and it worked very well. Unfortunately it does seem to precipitate gillian-barre’ in kids 12 years or young who took the med when they had the flu or other viruses. A lot of doctors credited aspirin with saving a lot of lives in the first 7 decades of the 20th century but Tylenol was deemed far safer, especially when gillian-barre’ started showing up in youngsters.

[GnuThere]

It may rather be the fact that he stayed home with fevers day after day while the pneumonia was worsening all along.

[RummyChick]

heck no...other than no coronoavirus and Trump as President

Anything else is just going to be a whipsaw after whipsaw

[C210N]

As for a ventilator, there are some “politicians” that might recommend a breathalyzer be used instead.

[TigerClaws]

Here’s what we see happening (especially here on FR):

Normalcy bias, or normality bias, is a tendency for people to believe that things will always function the way they normally have functioned and therefore to underestimate both the likelihood of a disaster and its possible effects. This may result in situations where people fail to adequately prepare themselves for disasters, and on a larger scale, the failure of governments to include the populace in its disaster preparations. About 70% of people reportedly display normalcy bias during a disaster.[1]

The normalcy bias can manifest itself in various disasters, ranging from car crashes to world-historical events. It is hypothesized that the normalcy bias may be caused by the way the brain processes new information. Stress slows information processing, and when the brain cannot find an acceptable response to a situation, it fixates on a single and sometimes default solution. This single resolution can result in unnecessary injury or death in disaster situations. The lack of preparation for disasters often leads to inadequate shelter, supplies, and evacuation plans. Thus, normalcy bias can cause people to drastically underestimate the effects of the disaster and assume that everything will be all right. The negative effects of normalcy bias can be combatted through the four stages of disaster response: preparation, warning, impact, and aftermath.

Normalcy bias has also been called analysis paralysis, the ostrich effect,[2] and by first responders, the negative panic.[3] The opposite of normalcy bias is overreaction, or worst-case scenario bias,[4][5] in which small deviations from normality are dealt with as signals of an impending catastrophe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalcy_bias

This is why even Newt warning people about Italy is denied by a good percentage of the posters here:

https://www.newsweek.com/newt-gingrich-i-am-italy-amid-coronavirus-crisis-america-must-act-now-act-big-opinion-1492270

How can we overcome Normalcy Bias and get people to do social distancing and take other proper steps in the midst of this crisis?

Not sure.

[TigerClaws]

PING to post 74.

Also, from the Wiki article:

Vesuvius erupting
As for events in world history, the normalcy bias explains why, when the volcano Vesuvius erupted, the residents of Pompeii watched for hours without evacuating.[9] It explains why thousands of people refused to leave New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina approached[10] and why at least 70% of 9/11 survivors spoke with others before leaving.[8] Officials at the White Star Line made insufficient preparations to evacuate passengers on the Titanic and people refused evacuation orders because they underestimated the odds of a worst-case scenario and minimized its potential impact.[11] Similarly, experts connected with the Fukushima nuclear power plant were strongly convinced that a multiple reactor meltdown could never occur.[12]

[DeplorableGirl]

as of now there’s about 100 cases in Louisiana, most in New Orleans & suburbs. Two have died. A man 58 with underlying conditions(not public) but no info on who else.
None of those sick travelled outside the US in the past year. My best guess
Mardi Gras. It was Feb 25 this year. A million people on the streets from all
over the world. Locals either got infected there or by someone at the parades. And of course this was before society was shut down.
We’ll never know though.

[Cold Heart]

Thanks. Important tip that we should all know about. Tylenol to reduce fever, not other ant-inflamatories.

[freeandfreezing]

because when push comes to shove YOU DO WHAT YOURE TOLD by your masters...

You should calm down and try to get a grip on reality. Working together with the rest of the people in our nation, and following the recommendations and/or directions of our President in order to prevent a public health disaster isn't "doing what you are told by your masters" it is simply common sense.

What exactly do you propose as a method to defeat a contagious virus? Should we form militias armed with sanitizer spray? Mount Lysol sprayers on our rifles?

Nobody I know is "bending" in fear, we're just doing what seems like the best things to do to head off an exponential rise in cases of a virus which could overload our medical system and cause lots of suffering.

[Cold Heart]

There is a fast acting Tylenol out there. Check the label.

[Cold Heart]

Actually Tylenol can kill your liver. Do not exceed recommended dose.