My sister, Tiffany Self, went home to be with the Lord on Oct 3, 2021. She too had Down Syndrome. She died from Covid pneumonia. Our family understands what y'all are going through. You know, I never thought anything could hurt more than losing my mom until Tiffany went home.
Tiffany's situation started out much like y'all's. We all thought we had allergies. None of us ran fevers. Tiffany didn't have a fever until the day she died. She was nonverbal, so she couldn't tell us what was going on. I asked her if she wanted to go to Walmart and noticed she was moving extremely slow. We checked her pulse ox and it was in the 80s. We all went for a test and tested positive. This was a weekend, so we couldn't get Ivermectin until Monday, which was an ordeal. There was only one pharmacy in our area to purchase it and they only had shipments one day, so it would be a couple of days before the shipment came in.
The Lord helped us keep Tiffany home as long as possible. The doctor prescribed oxygen, which was extremely helpful. Tiffany was scheduled to have an antibody infusion. I walked out the door without her wrist blood pressure monitor and the staff refused to give her the infusion because she wouldn't let them use the arm cuff. We lived 20 min away from the facility and it was closing time for the infusion. Daddy and Jonathan tried to get home to get the monitor, but they were closing. So we left. Tiffany pointed at Cracker Barrel. We had a wonderful dinner that night at home.
When we woke up the next morning she was going downhill. Our doctor said that if we could get her to the hospital that was 20 min away, then he would be able to see her. We knew if we called the ambulance they would take her to our closest hospital. So we anointed her with oil and all prayed over her. The Lord gave her, and us, the strength to get her to the car.
Then in the E.R. we had the hospitalist actually tell me that since Tiffany wasn't vaccinated she was going to die. We chose not to because she was on a chemo pill for breast cancer. Anyway the doctor walked out, and then Tiffany, in her pain and sickness, reached over to pull me into a hug. She gave ME comfort. That moment was the Holy Spirit. A nurse pulled me aside and told me that they had 3 or 4, fully vaccinated, Covid deaths that week.
We were extremely blessed because the Lord worked it out for me, Daddy, or my brother Jonathan to be with her. She was in the hospital 4 days and it was a daily battle to keep her OFF the vent and certain medications. Then we had one nurse who told us that if we left to get our infusions for Covid that Tiffany would die alone, because she wouldn't let us back in.
Because we canceled, the infusion doctor called to ask why, which I explained. Then the doctor asked if there was anything she could do, and I told her to give us a new nurse for the next day. Tiffany might have been sedated, but she wasn't completely out of it. She knew we were upset. We had a kind and compassionate nurse the next day when Tiffany went Home. Praise God!
I miss my sissy every day, we all do. This house isn't the same without her. I miss her smile. I praise God for pictures, videos, and memories. Our prayers go out to your family. Here's Tiffany's obituary with pictures. I have much more I could tell about Tiffany...
https://www.bentongluntandtappfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Tiffany-Self/#!/TributeWall
Henderson, KY