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President Trump Recovering After Dicey Weekend in Hospital
President Trump is feeling better after acute COVID-19 symptoms forced his medical team to administer an aggressive treatment regimen over the weekend.
Trump’s doctors administered an aggressive drug treatment on Saturday to combat a sharp drop in the president’s oxygen levels. Dexamethasone is a steroidal drug that is typically only used to treat more severe cases of COVID-19. However, medical doctors felt the potential benefits outweighed the risks.
Dr. Brian Garibaldi, President Trump’s attending pulmonary critical care specialist, said the medical team gave Trump the drug “in response to transient low oxygen levels,” and they “plan to continue that [treatment] for the time being.” The president is also receiving a course of Gilead Science’s remdesivir, which has an Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an effective COVID-19 treatment.
Oxygen levels are an important diagnostic metric for doctors treating COVID-19 patients because the disease primarily infects the respiratory system. Healthy levels of oxygen saturation typically run between 95 and 100. Any drop below 90 is a reason for concern. However, Trump’s levels never went below 93 on Saturday. With this, attending physicians say he didn’t feel any shortness of breath.
President Trump Treated With Dexamethasone
Many know Dexamethasone and other steroids can increase the survival odds for hospitalized patients. However, medical experts believe these drugs can do more harm than good in less severe cases. Some medical professionals publically warned Trump’s doctors to watch out for the effects of ‘VIP Syndrome’. This is a phenomenon that occurs when doctors let an important person’s status affect decisions about their medical care.
Trump checked into Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday after he began experiencing mild coronavirus symptoms such as high fever and fatigue. The president is currently staying in the aptly-named presidential suite. It includes just about everything he needs to effectively run the U.S. government while at the hospital for COVID-19 treatment.
The president’s internationally-publicized appearance at Walter Reed Medical Center attracted a large throng of Trump fans and their counter-protestor counterparts to the hospital. Trump released a statement thanking his supporters over the weekend. He even took a brief SUV ride outside of the hospital to wave to the adoring crowds.
Media Frenzy
"Today he feels well. He's been up and around.
If he continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow." https://t.co/KnPJcpjDTu
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 4, 2020
However, the Trump Trolls in the media quickly responded by criticizing the president for the appearance. Several hard-left publications ran negative stories about the event. Additionally, The Wall Street Journal dutifully pointed out that the trip “was a departure from government health guidelines” on its page.
The Journal also wrote an article announcing the president didn’t announce his first coronavirus positive until he took a second test just hours later. This seemingly routine instance of confirming the positive test before announcing it seems logical. However, The Journal framed the occurrence as some kind of unjust breach of sacred government protocols.
There’s no concrete timetable for the president’s release. Doctors whispered about possibly discharging the commander in chief as early as Monday. Although, it doesn’t look like that will be the case.
“Today, he feels well, he’s been up and around. Our plan for today is to have him to eat and drink, be up out of bed as much as possible,” said. Dr. Garibaldi in a Monday briefing with reporters. “If he continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House where he can continue his treatment course.”
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