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H1N1 threatens area man's life: Ex-Portage resident in coma in Cleveland

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Mike Sever
November 17, 2009

 

By Mike Sever

Record-Courier staff writer

A former Portage County resident is in a Cleveland hospital fighting for his life after being struck by the H1N1 flu virus.

Walter Savitts, 44, now of Leavittsburg, is at University Hospital Case Medical Center in Cleveland. As of Monday, he was in an induced coma following emergency surgery for complications of the virus, which attacked his lungs.

“It’s been a roller coaster ride,” said Robert Cottrill, Savitts’ stepson. He said his stepfather had to be put on kidney dialysis over the weekend. 

Savitts is in an induced coma in the surgical intensive care unit at the hospital more than a week after being put on a blood-bypass machine to allow his ravaged lungs to rest.

“His lungs are recovering a little bit, but they’re not sure” Cottrill said. “The testing they would need to do is too invasive. His lungs are starting to absorb oxygen, but we’re not sure what extent of the function is remaining.”

Savitts was one of two H1N1 patients in an ABC News report last week that showed just how random and destructive the flu virus could be. Both patients were healthy men in their 30s and 40s whose conditions rapidly worsened, from mild to near death.

About a month ago, Savitts became ill with a fever and a cough. Savitts, who drives truck for Tri-County Concrete in Twinsburg, was diagnosed with the flu and sent home. By the next week he had pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital. Three days later he was in full respiratory failure.

Savitts was flown to Case Medical Center where doctors performed emergency surgery called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO. Blood is cycled out of the body, cleaned of carbon dioxide, oxygenated and cycled back into the body.

The surgery is to let the lungs rest so they can repair themselves. Patients are induced into a coma.

Savitts and his wife, Margaret, lived in Windham for several years before moving to Leavittsburg in Trumbull County. Neither Savitts or his spouse have health insurance, Cottrill said.

To help cover hospital costs, friends are holding a bake sale Wednesday and Thursday in front of the Walmart in Middlefield. A second bake sale will be held the day before Thanksgiving at the same location.

A fund-raiser is set for 1 p.m. Dec. 13 at Skylane bowling, 8311 Windham St. in Garrettsville. 

For tickets and information, call the bowling alley at 330-527-9999.

Also, donation cans have been set out at several area businesses in Windham and Garrettsville.

Donations also may be sent to the Windham branch of Cortland Bank, 8950 Maple Grove Road, attention Walter or Margaret Savitts.

—

E-mail: 

msever@recordpub.com

Phone: 330 298-1125

 




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 5 Total Comments
5.
    Posted by mlmizer November 20, 2009
as one of the family members, thank you all for the sentiments, it is much appreciated.

He is still fighting and we all hope he pulls through soon :)

4.
    Posted by mlmizer November 20, 2009
as one of the family members, thank you all for the sentiments, it is much appreciated.

He is still fighting and we all hope he pulls through soon :)

3.
    Posted by notanignoramus November 17, 2009
Mr. Sever needs to do some fact checking! Wikipedia has this information...

ECMO is not a surgery. An emergency surgery is performed to gain access to the largest blood vessels near the heart and insert the tubes that move the blood between the body and machine. ECMO is a procedure using a machine similar to a heart/lung machine.
"Extracorporeal" means "outside the body." Since the lungs (or in many cases, the heart) are not functioning, ECMO takes the place of lung function. The "rest" allows the organ(s) to heal.
The patient is put into a coma for two main reasons: is to a) prevent movement and awareness of the ECMO procedure (essentially general anesthesia) and b) give the affected organs a rest.
Best wishes to the Mr. Savitts and his family.

2.
    Posted by munchkin67 November 17, 2009
I feel for this family so much I just lost my cousin to this flu we buried her on Nov. 9th 2009. I so understand the ride that they are on right now. My thoughts and prayers are with the whole family at this time.

1.
    Posted by bqwhotoo1 November 17, 2009
WOW. I would like to have known if this man had received any immunizations against the flu or not. I pray for this man and his family, and hope he has a full recovery from this H1N1 flu. Thanks for the donation information also.

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