Beth Yumlu

In late 2019, my husband passed away unexpectedly.  His death was caused by a medication he took for Rheumatoid Arthritis turned toxic. After 13 days in ICU, he lost his life.  That day was my birthday. His death was entirely preventable.  Three months later COVID emerged. When you go through something as traumatic as this, it fundamentally changes who you are.  I have no medical credentials— I’m just a wife who lost her husband of 22 years in a painful and horrific way. My hope is it never happens to anyone else.

On October 16, Charlie had routine bloodwork done.  It came back mostly normal.  On Wednesday, October 23, he went to the Primary Care Physician (PCP) because he had a persistent stomach bug.  They diagnosed diverticulitis.  Gave him some medications, told him to get a CT scan, and follow up with a gastroenterologist. There was no sense of urgency. They said if it did not clear up in 5 or 6 days to come back. 

However, on October 30, a week later, I took him to the ER and he was admitted to the hospital.  He was in kidney failure and had started developing a rash from his torso up and in his mouth. The ulcers in his mouth spread down his throat and by November 1 he could no longer talk, eat, drink or anything.  The hematologist suspected methotrexate toxicity and ordered a bone marrow biopsy.  His white and red blood cell counts (WBCs and RBCs) were dropping rapidly as were his platelet counts and his kidney numbers were sky high.  His WBC dropped to .1 and stayed there for 7 days.  On the second day in the hospital, they started giving him a medication to stimulate blood cell production. On November 2, he was moved to ICU. He was in isolation, and I was the only one allowed to visit him.

That afternoon, I went home to get some things done with the intent of returning in a couple of hours.  I was only home about an hour when I received a call and was asked to return to the hospital.  I knew then something horrible had happened.  When I arrived at the ICU, there were medical staff all around him.  He had gone into cardiac arrest He was ultimately medivac’d to a hospital with more specialized care.  He passed away 2 days later.