Alex Current and his family have, like most people, spent the past few years trying to protect themselves from COVID-19. Alex鈥檚 grandmother Phyllis had emphysema, and the family knew that a COVID-19 infection could be bad for her.
Unfortunately, Phyllis tested positive for COVID-19 in late January, during the omicron surge. When her symptoms progressed, Alex turned to his friend, Nicole Marks, a nurse practitioner at RUSH, for advice. Marks told Alex that taking Phyllis to RUSH was her best shot at beating COVID-19.
Within an hour of arriving, Phyllis 鈥 Alex鈥檚 legally adoptive mother 鈥 was given a bed in the ICU. She improved and was eventually moved to a regular hospital floor, but when it was time for Phyllis to be discharged, a nurse told the family that Phyllis would need 24-hour care and supervision. While Alex鈥檚 birth mother thought that would be no problem, Alex knew that wouldn鈥檛 be feasible for his family.
Alex asked Nicole for advice again, and Nicole suggested that he contact social services at Rush.
As Alex and his family coped with Phyllis鈥檚 illness, RUSH social workers and nursing staff provided support that proved instrumental to the Current family.
鈥楾ell me your story鈥
Enter Ellie Plonsky. Alex got Plonsky鈥檚 phone number from the nurse in charge of Phyllis鈥檚 care, and he called and left a message. Within an hour, Plonsky called back. She simply said, 鈥淭ell me your story,鈥 and Alex poured his heart out to her.
鈥淎 major tenet of social work is meeting people where they鈥檙e at and giving them the support they need at that time. I could tell when I first talked to Alex that he needed emotional support, and that he also needed a point person for communication,鈥 Plonsky says.
鈥淲ith many of my COVID-19 patients, family members are often in distress, and it can be exacerbated by not having direct contact with their family member.鈥
Plonsky also recognized that Alex was comforted by being in the know, so she called him multiple times a day to let him know that she was there for him, and to give him updates. They forged a strong rapport through that repeated contact.
Forming a therapeutic bond
Alex and Plonsky began to collaborate on a discharge plan that would work for Phyllis. Their first contact was on a Friday, and though Plonsky wasn鈥檛 working that weekend, she called Alex as soon as she was back on Monday.
鈥淢y favorite thing about working with Ellie,鈥 Alex says, 鈥渨as that she always called back earlier than expected and with more information than expected. She was realistic, but truly advocated for my grandmother鈥檚 care.鈥
鈥淒uring such a distressing time, it was also therapeutic for me to form this bond with a patient鈥檚 family member,鈥 Plonsky says. 鈥淚 felt that my work was being honored and appreciated, and that鈥檚 something that can be hard to find in times like these with COVID-19 and many people in distress.鈥
Phyllis wanted to go to a rehab center that was close to her home, but the center had strict COVID-19 policies and initially would not take her because she was positive for COVID-19. When Plonsky heard this, she asked Alex for his grandmother鈥檚 COVID-19 timeline and asked the rehab center to make an exception for Phyllis. In the end, an exception was granted and Phyllis was accepted to her first choice of rehab facility.
鈥淚t was amazing that Ellie went through that extra amount of effort and paid attention to that detail,鈥 Alex says. 鈥淪he always had my grandma鈥檚 best interests at heart and knew ultimately that this was what Phyllis wanted.鈥 Phyllis鈥檚 mental health had been declining while she was in the hospital, so the family knew that honoring this choice would mean a lot to her.
Phyllis鈥檚 condition later worsened, and she had to go back to the ICU. Plonsky stayed involved in the case for the first couple of days, but she ultimately had to transfer the case to someone else due to her caseload. 鈥淓llie鈥檚 care and compassion was unmatched. The attention she gave our family was above and beyond what I would have ever expected,鈥 Alex says.
鈥業f this was my family, this is what I would do鈥
Phyllis ended up going on a ventilator at RUSH, and her care team realized there was an issue with her brain, but that she wasn鈥檛 quite stable enough to go for a scan to confirm. Phyllis鈥檚 care team asked Alex and his birth mother to come to RUSH discuss her status. Alex then got the rest of the family on the phone and they, along with Phyllis鈥檚 care team, made the decision to take Phyllis off the ventilator.
鈥淭he ICU nurse that we talked to was incredibly compassionate. I asked her 鈥榓re we making the right decision?鈥 She said, 鈥榠f this was my family, this is exactly what I would do.鈥 I was comforted by that statement from the nurse and knew we were making the right decision.鈥
Alex recognizes that when a loved one dies, there can be a lot of regret and 鈥渟hould haves鈥 and that it can be difficult to coordinate the care when you鈥檙e in the passenger seat.
鈥淚 am eternally grateful,鈥 he says, 鈥渢hat we don鈥檛 have any 鈥榳hat ifs鈥. There is nothing we could have done that was any better, and everything worked out the way it was supposed to. If we didn鈥檛 go to RUSH, we would have just been planning Phyllis鈥檚 funeral from the start. RUSH gave us hope, and a chance, and that assurance was priceless.鈥
