An Oklahoma City native is sharing her story of trying to find an intensive care unit bed for her father. She said that their family vacation quickly turned into her worst nightmare. Ken Early of Oklahoma City, and his family were in Taos, New Mexico for vacation when he suffered a heart attack in the middle of a supermarket there. “I saw my mom flagging me down, and my father, I could see on the floor,” said Elizabeth Kolliopoulos. Kolliopoulos rushed to her father. “I immediately went in and did CPR,” said Kolliopoulos. Ambulance. arrived and hurried to the local hospital, but everyone quickly realized that the rural hospital didn’t have the capacity to care for Early’s critical condition. “The idea was, ‘Let’s get him medicated in Oklahoma City.’ That’s what we had to do. No hospital rooms. Not a single ICU bed that could take my dad,” Koliopoulos said. He tried other states. “He saw in New Mexico, not a single hospital bed, ICU, that could take my father. In Kansas, nothing. In Arizona, nothing. In Texas, nothing,” Koliopoulos said. With the onset of fever, his condition started deteriorating. >> COVID-19 in Oklahoma: New Cases, Deaths, Success Cases, Vaccination Rate” The doctor just came into the room with that look. Where on his face you just know, you know. This is bad news,” said Koliopoulos. Early on, a beloved husband and father, a retired CPA who loved to travel and wear weird socks, died in Taos, New Mexico. “It’s heartbreaking to me. . I feel like we are in some kind of humanitarian crisis,” Koliopoulos said. “Because people will not be vaccinated and because people will not wear their masks, this happened to our family.” Last month, according to the state health department, more than 90% of the hospitalized COVID-19 patients were not fully vaccinated. >> Did you know? How to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine in Oklahoma “My father was vaccinated. My mother was vaccinated. My husband and I, we have all been vaccinated. Koliopoulos said taking COVID-19 precautions could free up a hospital bed for someone else like her father. “If you care about your neighbor, if you care about your parents your grandparents. Please just get vaccinated,” Koliopoulos said. “Maybe my father would have died anyway. Maybe Oklahoma She may have died in the U.S., but she would have died in Oklahoma.” As of Wednesday night, three of the metro’s four major hospital systems have three ICU beds available. We asked all hospitals about the current situation. SSM Health Officials said it is not unusual to have 50 transfer requests on their waiting list and more than two dozen holding in the emergency room.
An Oklahoma City native is sharing her story of trying to find an intensive care unit bed for her father. She said that their family vacation quickly turned into her worst nightmare.
Ken Early of Oklahoma City, and his family were on vacation in Taos, New Mexico, when he suffered a heart attack in the middle of a supermarket there.
Elizabeth Koliopoulos said, “I saw my mother flagging me down, and my father, I could see across the floor.”
Kolliopoulos rushed to his father.
“I immediately went in and did CPR,” Koliopoulos said.
An ambulance arrived and hurried to a local hospital, but everyone quickly realized that the rural hospital lacked the capacity to care for Early’s critical condition.
“The idea was, ‘Let’s get him medicated in Oklahoma City.’ That’s what we had to do. No hospital rooms. Not a single ICU bed that could take my dad,” Koliopoulos said.
He tried other states.
“He saw in New Mexico, not a single hospital bed, ICU, that could take my father. In Kansas, nothing. In Arizona, nothing. In Texas, nothing,” Koliopoulos said.
As soon as the fever came, his condition started deteriorating.
>> COVID-19 in Oklahoma: New cases, deaths, success cases, vaccination rates
“The doctor just came into the room with that look on his face where you just know, you know. This is bad news,” Koliopoulos said.
Early on, a beloved husband and father, a retired CPA who loved to travel and wear weird socks, died in Taos, New Mexico.
“It’s heartbreaking to me. I feel like we’re in some kind of humanitarian crisis,” Koliopoulos said. “Because people won’t be vaccinated and because people won’t wear their masks, it hurts our families.” Happened.”
Last month, according to the state health department, more than 90% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients were not fully vaccinated.
>> Do you know? How to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine in Oklahoma
“My father was vaccinated. My mother was vaccinated. My husband and I, we have all been vaccinated,” Koliopoulos said.
Kolliopoulos said taking COVID-19 precautions could free up a hospital bed for someone else like her father.
“If you care about your neighbor, if you care about your parents then your grandparents. Please just get vaccinated,” Koliopoulos said. “Maybe my father would have died anyway. Maybe he Must have died in Oklahoma, but he must have died in Oklahoma.”
As of Wednesday night, three ICU beds are available from all four of the metro’s major hospital systems. We asked all the hospitals about the current situation. SSM health officials said it is not unusual to have 50 transfer requests on their waiting list and more than two dozen holding in the emergency room.
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