Trump Was Sicker Than Acknowledged With Covid-19
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ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 68
Gender: Male
Posts: 39,637
Location: Long Island, New York
12 Feb 2021, 5:07 am
Quote:
President Donald J. Trump was sicker with Covid-19 in October than publicly acknowledged at the time, with extremely depressed blood oxygen levels at one point and a lung problem associated with pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, according to four people familiar with his condition.
His prognosis became so worrisome before he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that officials believed he would need to be put on a ventilator, two of the people familiar with his condition said.
The people familiar with Mr. Trump’s health said he was found to have lung infiltrates, which occur when the lungs are inflamed and contain substances such as fluid or bacteria. Their presence, especially when a patient is exhibiting other symptoms, can be a sign of an acute case of the disease. They can be easily spotted on an X-ray or scan, when parts of the lungs appear opaque, or white.
Mr. Trump’s blood oxygen level alone was cause for extreme concern, dipping into the 80s, according to the people familiar with his evaluation. The disease is considered severe when the blood oxygen level falls to the low 90s.
The new revelations about Mr. Trump’s struggle with the virus also underscore the limited and sometimes misleading nature of the information disclosed at the time about his condition.
The former president resisted being taken from the White House to Walter Reed, relenting when aides told him that he could walk out on his own, or risk waiting until the U.S. Secret Service was forced to carry him out if he got sicker, two people familiar with the events said.
There are still unanswered questions about whether Mr. Trump was already sick with Covid-19 when he participated in a presidential debate on Sept. 29, just two days before the public announcement that he had been diagnosed with the disease and three days before his deteriorating condition forced him to go to Walter Reed.
Mr. Trump had trouble breathing at the White House. He was twice given oxygen before being taken to Walter Reed, as Dr. Conley acknowledged after it was reported by The New York Times.
While still at the White House, Mr. Trump received a drug developed by the biotechnology firm Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The antibody cocktail — not widely available at the time — helps people infected with the virus fight it off.
And he received a five-day course of the antiviral drug remdesivir. Medical experts at the time believed that his medication course was a clear signal of significant issues related to his lungs.
In news conferences outside the hospital that weekend, Dr. Conley offered data that made it appear his patient was recovering quickly. He noted that Mr. Trump had fared well on a spirometry test, which measures lung capacity. “He’s maxing it out,” Dr. Conley said. “He’s doing great.”
Medical experts say a spirometry test is virtually meaningless with Covid-19 patients.
When Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, tried to surreptitiously tell reporters that the situation was more dire, Mr. Trump erupted in anger, according to people who spoke with him.
On Sunday, Oct. 4, Dr. Conley acknowledged that he had given a rosy version of Mr. Trump’s condition.
Mr. Trump appeared to still be struggling with the disease when he returned to the White House, where he stationed himself on a balcony in a choreographed scene, tearing his mask off and saluting his helicopter. Doctors at the time noted how Mr. Trump used his neck muscles to help him breathe in those moments, a classic sign that someone’s lungs are not taking in enough oxygen.
On the night of his diagnosis, Oct. 1, White House officials scrambled to get the Regeneron antibody cocktail — not at that point authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment — to Mr. Trump.
In the weeks after his hospitalization, Mr. Trump was convinced that the Regeneron treatment had saved his life, telling aides, “I’m proof it works.”
That line became a running joke among top health officials, who would ask each other whether anyone was going to break it to Mr. Trump that he was in fact a failed clinical trial result for Regeneron, since the aim is to prevent people from being hospitalized after receiving it, one former senior administration official said.
His prognosis became so worrisome before he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that officials believed he would need to be put on a ventilator, two of the people familiar with his condition said.
The people familiar with Mr. Trump’s health said he was found to have lung infiltrates, which occur when the lungs are inflamed and contain substances such as fluid or bacteria. Their presence, especially when a patient is exhibiting other symptoms, can be a sign of an acute case of the disease. They can be easily spotted on an X-ray or scan, when parts of the lungs appear opaque, or white.
Mr. Trump’s blood oxygen level alone was cause for extreme concern, dipping into the 80s, according to the people familiar with his evaluation. The disease is considered severe when the blood oxygen level falls to the low 90s.
The new revelations about Mr. Trump’s struggle with the virus also underscore the limited and sometimes misleading nature of the information disclosed at the time about his condition.
The former president resisted being taken from the White House to Walter Reed, relenting when aides told him that he could walk out on his own, or risk waiting until the U.S. Secret Service was forced to carry him out if he got sicker, two people familiar with the events said.
There are still unanswered questions about whether Mr. Trump was already sick with Covid-19 when he participated in a presidential debate on Sept. 29, just two days before the public announcement that he had been diagnosed with the disease and three days before his deteriorating condition forced him to go to Walter Reed.
Mr. Trump had trouble breathing at the White House. He was twice given oxygen before being taken to Walter Reed, as Dr. Conley acknowledged after it was reported by The New York Times.
While still at the White House, Mr. Trump received a drug developed by the biotechnology firm Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The antibody cocktail — not widely available at the time — helps people infected with the virus fight it off.
And he received a five-day course of the antiviral drug remdesivir. Medical experts at the time believed that his medication course was a clear signal of significant issues related to his lungs.
In news conferences outside the hospital that weekend, Dr. Conley offered data that made it appear his patient was recovering quickly. He noted that Mr. Trump had fared well on a spirometry test, which measures lung capacity. “He’s maxing it out,” Dr. Conley said. “He’s doing great.”
Medical experts say a spirometry test is virtually meaningless with Covid-19 patients.
When Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, tried to surreptitiously tell reporters that the situation was more dire, Mr. Trump erupted in anger, according to people who spoke with him.
On Sunday, Oct. 4, Dr. Conley acknowledged that he had given a rosy version of Mr. Trump’s condition.
Mr. Trump appeared to still be struggling with the disease when he returned to the White House, where he stationed himself on a balcony in a choreographed scene, tearing his mask off and saluting his helicopter. Doctors at the time noted how Mr. Trump used his neck muscles to help him breathe in those moments, a classic sign that someone’s lungs are not taking in enough oxygen.
On the night of his diagnosis, Oct. 1, White House officials scrambled to get the Regeneron antibody cocktail — not at that point authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment — to Mr. Trump.
In the weeks after his hospitalization, Mr. Trump was convinced that the Regeneron treatment had saved his life, telling aides, “I’m proof it works.”
That line became a running joke among top health officials, who would ask each other whether anyone was going to break it to Mr. Trump that he was in fact a failed clinical trial result for Regeneron, since the aim is to prevent people from being hospitalized after receiving it, one former senior administration official said.
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