When Bradford resident John Etter first started experiencing symptoms in November, he thought he was starting to get a head cold. But within a few days he was in the hospital, and he has yet to return to his home.
“He went from a sniffle to being vented in about a seven-day span,” said Vicki Etter, John’s wife, who shared the story of his journey through COVID-19.
John Etter is currently in rehab at Bradford Manor. Vicki Etter said it has been the support of family, friends, their church and medical professionals that have gotten the couple through this difficult time.
A spaghetti dinner benefit for him will be held from 4:30-6 p.m. Saturday at Evans Memorial United Methodist Church in Lewis Run.
When Etter started feeling cold-like symptoms in the first weekend in November, he joked with his wife that he was getting his annual cold. He went to work on Monday, taking some Tylenol and drinking extra fluids to combat what he believed at that time to be a minor illness.
He soon realized it “didn’t feel like a regular head cold,” and on Thursday he called in sick, said Vicki Etter. At one point Thursday night, he “tried to get up off the couch and he about fell.” His temperature at that time was 103 degrees, despite having taken Tylenol a couple of hours before.
Vicki Etter loaded her husband into the car and took him to the emergency room at Bradford Regional Medical Center. The doctor believed John Etter had pneumonia and gave him a prescription for an antibiotic. The doctor didn’t believe it was COVID-19, but he decided to test him, just to be sure.
He stayed home from work again Friday and was feeling even worse on Saturday. Vicki Etter said her husband sleeps with a CPAP machine — used to help people with sleep apnea breathe — and she believes the CPAP “is the only thing that got him through Saturday night.”
Her son brought over a machine that determines the oxygen saturation level of the blood, and on Sunday morning, John Etter’s oxygen level was dropping and he started to cough blood.
“At that point we knew something was wrong,” said Vicki Etter.
They returned to the ER, with Vicki Etter struggling to get her husband into the car. At the hospital, she used a wheelchair to help get him inside. He was admitted into the hospital, and by Tuesday, medical providers felt their only option was to put him on a ventilator.
A couple of days later, he was moved to the ICU at Olean (N.Y.) General Hospital.
As John Etter was fighting COVID in the hospital, Vicki Etter began to feel sick, too. She also tested positive at that time.
“So I was home battling COVID on my own while he was being put on the vent,” she said.
There were a number of new tasks she had to learn to do, too. For instance, her husband took care of the finances.
“The learning curve dealing with the day-to-day things was quite overwhelming for a while,” she said.
It was the end of November before John Etter would test negative for COVID-19; however, the complications from the disease were far from over.
While he was in Olean General, John Etter’s health “got pretty hairy for awhile,” according to Vicki, who said despite extra issues, medical staff were able to get him stable enough to transfer to a rehab facility in Erie on Dec. 10.
In Erie, he got pneumonia again, and he was taken to another facility for treatment and returned to the rehab facility in Erie before he was finally able to be transferred to Bradford Manor.
While John Etter is recovering, it has been a difficult road.
“People don’t realize how severe it can be,” she said of the disease. “Basically, he has had to learn everything again.”
He couldn’t swallow on his own for a while and had a PEG tube. He was kept sedated and lost muscle mass. He had to relearn everyday tasks such as walking, talking, feeding himself and toileting.
“The goal right now is to have him home by Easter,” said Vicki Etter.
She said she will be nervous for a while even when he does come home due to the complications he experienced.
Complications included an enlarged heart that did not go back to normal until mid-December. His kidneys had shut down at one point and he was on dialysis for a time. He is taking insulin for diabetes — a disease he did not have before getting sick — and he has a spot on the bottom of his left lung.
The times she has been able to see her husband during this time have been few. She has visited with him briefly a few times, and they can video chat now.
One difficult moment for her at one of those meetings was hearing him say, upon seeing her, “I was so worried you were just one of my hallucinations.”
She is thankful for Olean hospital, which she said stayed on top of issues her husband faced and has an “excellent” intensivist, and she appreciated the care he received at all four hospitals and at rehab.
Vicki Etter does not know how she would have gotten through this time without the support — and prayers — from their church and family.
“It’s a very humbling experience,” she said. “I can’t say enough how it opened our eyes to the love and support around us.”
John Etter’s former classmates are posting updates about him on their Youngsville Class of 1971 webpage, and even her insurance agent prayed with her over the phone.
“God has been so good and there’s been so many people who reached out and kept in touch,” Vicki Etter said. In fact, there were a couple of days in the ICU when “he was storming so bad” that “I really believe it was prayer that pulled him through — that, and some good doctors.”
John Etter is semi-retired and was working at the Fine Wine & Good Spirits store in Bradford. He enjoys fly-fishing and is very active with Evans Memorial United Methodist Church
Etter used to be a volunteer with the Bradford Township Volunteer Fire Department and worked at Pittsburgh Corning before it shut down.
Vicki Etter retired from Bradford Regional Medical Center two years ago and works in the afterschool learning program at The Learning Center.
The couple has two children and five grandchildren.
Vicki Etter said her husband is “a people person” and enjoyed working at the state store and welcoming people.
However, during the pandemic, that job had become frustrating. People would get angry and call him names when he reminded them to wear masks coming into the store. The store offered curbside pickup for people who were unable to wear a mask, so people were still able to make purchases even if they were unable to wear a mask.
Before getting COVID-19, “He was actually quite healthy,” said his wife. His blood pressure was a little high, which he was able to control with medication. He was still working and was quite active.
“I am very thankful he is alive,” Vicki Etter said. She noted her son lost his father-in-law to COVID. “My heart just aches for so many people.”
Saturday’s spaghetti dinner fundraiser at Evans Memorial, 1449 South Ave., Lewis Run, is take-out only, either by drive-thru or pick-up. The cost is $10 for adults or $5 for children aged 12 and under.
Tickets are available in advance by calling/texting 724-815-9377 or emailing klduffee@msn.com. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door.
Vicki Etter noted the meatballs are being made by Miss Shirley, who is known throughout the area for her meatballs.
Donations may also be sent to the Evans Memorial UMC, P.O. Box 427, Lewis Run, PA 16738. Mark the donation with “Etter Benefit.”
