UPS Driver's Pregnant Wife, has Swine Flu.

stevetheupsguy

sʇǝʌǝʇɥǝndsƃnʎ
Monday, July 13, 2009
WELLINGTON — Bryan Opdyke's baby girl isn't supposed to enter the world for another 14 weeks.
But swine flu has forced him to pick a name, Parker Christine Opdyke.
As his wife lays in a medically induced coma in Wellington Regional Medical Center's intensive care unit, he can feel 26-week Parker Christine rolling inside Aubrey's womb, and it gives him hope.

"This baby flips and flops all the time. Her heart rate is great. Shes got her mom's stubbornness," he said today.
Bryan chose the name Parker because his wife liked the sound of it, before she fell ill. They chose Christine in honor of his mother, Christine Opdyke. Doctors are keeping Aubrey in a coma, on a ventilator, to give the baby maximum oxygen as mother struggles to overcome the illness. They will be forced to deliver the baby if Aubrey's blood oxygen levels crash again, or if the baby is struggling, he said.

"We're trying to get her to at least 28 weeks - the doctors said the chances of successful delivery go up dramatically if we can get her to 28," Bryan Opdyke.
The number of confirmed swine flu cases in South Florida is surging. It's a relatively mild illness for most people, but pregnant women, children, diabetics and people with heart and lung conditions are more likely to develop complications.

Health officials confirmed last week another pregnant woman was the first Palm Beach County swine flu victim. She died at age 25 on June 27. Doctors were able to save her baby.
Pregnant women represent about 1 percent of the U.S. population, but so far they've represented about 8 percent of those suffering from severe swine flu complications, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said today.
Precisely why pregnant women are harder hit by the flu is a subject of much research.

CDC Medical Officer Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, a pediatrician, said women's immune systems change once they become pregnant; some aspects are curbed, others enhanced. Their heart and lungs change, too. It all leaves them more vulnerable to specific germs, including toxoplasmosis and influenza.
"The mother's immune system needs to be able to learn to tolerate the foreign proteins from the father, so the pregnancy can continue," Rasmussen said. "That's why pregnant women are recommended every year to get the seasonal flu vaccine."

Bryan Opdyke said he feels optimistic about baby Parker's chance for survival, but his fear for his wife keeps him at the hospital at all hours.
"She's making small steps at this point but they are in the right direction," he said. "Right now they are giving her 50 to 60 percent survival. She's better than she was."
Aubrey Opdyke is a waitress at Newport Cafe in West Palm Beach. On June 30 she developed a sore throat, and her doctor told her to take Tylenol, which can be important in protecting a fetus from high fever. But she felt worse. An antibiotic didn't help, and on July 5 Bryan Opdyke rushed Aubrey to Wellington Regional, where she has remained. She's being treated with Tamiflu, he said. He's grateful to the health care workers who are caring for Aubrey, especially Aubrey's ob-gyn.
"Her obstetrician is awesome and has been great through this whole process," he said.

Palm Beach County has been late to join the global H1N1 pandemic, but it is here now with a vengeance. Four counties - Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Orange - account for more than 60 percent of the state's cases. Palm Beach County alone has recorded 146 cases, most coming in the past few weeks. Florida logged another death on Monday, a 41-year-old Orange County woman. Statewide, 1,784 have been confirmed sick, with 10 deaths.

The Opdykes' battle to overcome swine flu has captured national media attention. Before dawn on Monday, there were TV trucks outside the hospital, Bryan Opdyke said.
People have been calling the hospital, misrepresenting themselves, trying to find out about Aubrey's condition. As a result, he said he has agreed to have Wellington Regional's press office handle inquiries.
Meanwhile, tucked away next to a Chinese takeout restaurant, an insurance office and a construction staffing company in a strip mall on Forest Hill Boulevard, the Newport Cafe has become a media magnet, too.
"This has nothing to do with us," said one waitress, warily watching a reporter standing in front of a video camera pointed at the restaurant. "It's not like we have the swine flu or something. Can't the owner make them go away?"

According to employees at Newport Cafe, no one else at the eatery besides Opdyke had felt sick in the last several weeks. They said they were not worried about their own health, but were concerned about that of their ill co-worker.
"We're all worried," said one woman, who said the restaurant found out on Friday from Opdyke's husband, Bryan. "We all have kids."
Aubrey's tips had been sorely needed. Her car's transmission had just failed. And Bryan's his engine light went on. He's been forced to take unpaid family medical leave. He's a driver for UPS. But money's the least of his worries.
"At this point, I'm just thinking about her," Opdyke said.

http://postpix.palmbeachpost.com/my...98&event=795669&CategoryID=48010&pSlideshow=1
 
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pickup

Guest
interesting story steve but ups , in this case has almost nothing to do with it. I feel for the driver and wife and unborn child, and I hope everything goes well with them but as much as i would feel if it were a guy who drove a bus.

Just a mercy post to show that yours was read:wink2:
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
Well actually it does.

Kudos to UPS management there for allowing him to be where he needs to be.

We have management here like that now, but it was not always like that.

d
 
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pickup

Guest
Well actually it does.

Kudos to UPS management there for allowing him to be where he needs to be.

We have management here like that now, but it was not always like that.

d

you're right danny, I should have given credit to management for that.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
And Pup, one other thing that you overlooked. The human interest part of the story.

It could very well be that within a few days, the driver might have to chose between his wife and his child surviving, or gamble and lose both.

So thoughts and prayers to the guy, I hope and pray he gets to take two home from the hospital.

d
 

stevetheupsguy

sʇǝʌǝʇɥǝndsƃnʎ
And Pup, one other thing that you overlooked. The human interest part of the story.

It could very well be that within a few days, the driver might have to chose between his wife and his child surviving, or gamble and lose both.

So thoughts and prayers to the guy, I hope and pray he gets to take two home from the hospital.

d
Very true, d. Another couple were in the same situation just last week. The woman gave birth and then died of Swine Flu.
 

stevetheupsguy

sʇǝʌǝʇɥǝndsƃnʎ
UPDATE!***

Baby of woman with swine flu dies at Wellington Regional Medical Center.

Saturday, July 18, 2009
WELLINGTON — The baby girl of a woman with swine flu died this morning at Wellington Regional Medical Center after doctors were forced to deliver the child prematurely.
The mother, Aubrey Opdyke, remained in critical condition. Doctors put Opdyke into a coma to give the baby, named Parker Christine, as much oxygen as possible while her mother fought the H1N1 swine flu virus. Doctors decided to deliver the baby today, about 14 weeks before its due date, but the child died, a hospital spokeswoman said. No other details were available.

Opdyke's husband, Bryan, named the baby after his wife was put in the coma. He chose the name Parker because his wife liked the sound of it before she fell ill. They had already picked the middle name Christine in honor of Bryan's mother.
Bryan Opdyke had said doctors might be forced to deliver the baby if his wife's oxygen levels crashed or if the baby began to struggle. They had hoped to wait until at least 28 weeks, if forced to deliver early.
The number of confirmed swine flu cases in South Florida is surging. It's a relatively mild illness for most people, but pregnant women, children, diabetics and people with heart and lung conditions are more likely to develop complications.
Health officials confirmed two weeks ago another pregnant woman was the first Palm Beach County swine flu victim. She died at age 25 on June 27. Doctors were able to save her baby.
Pregnant women represent about 1 percent of the U.S. population, but so far they've represented about 8 percent of those suffering from severe swine flu complications, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said.
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
Well actually it does.

Kudos to UPS management there for allowing him to be where he needs to be.

We have management here like that now, but it was not always like that.

d
He's on FMLA UPS management can't make him work right? Although his manager is a good guy and I think would do all he was allowed to do to help him. They did a collection for him to help ease the financial woes that can go along with something of this nature.
 
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pickup

Guest
And Pup, one other thing that you overlooked. The human interest part of the story.

It could very well be that within a few days, the driver might have to chose between his wife and his child surviving, or gamble and lose both.

So thoughts and prayers to the guy, I hope and pray he gets to take two home from the hospital.

d
Oh, daniel my brother, you are older than me ... that much being said, I think this sentence from my earlier post pretty much sums up the sentiments that you expressed as well. :

I feel for the driver and wife and unborn child, and I hope everything goes well with them but as much as i would feel if it were a guy who drove a bus.


The only way you can feel otherwise if you believe i don't care about the guy who drove a bus. (which I do) :wink2:
 

stevetheupsguy

sʇǝʌǝʇɥǝndsƃnʎ
I would contribute to a fund like this, quicker than I would to Untied Way. Driver's taking care of their own. A sort of rainy day or calamity fund.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
I would contribute to a fund like this, quicker than I would to Untied Way. Driver's taking care of their own. A sort of rainy day or calamity fund.


This is an instance where I would love to see a change in our next contract which would allow us to donate sick, personal and/or vacation time to a fellow employee in cases such as this. Prison guards in my area routinely do this when one of their own is faced with such a situation.
 

stevetheupsguy

sʇǝʌǝʇɥǝndsƃnʎ
This is an instance where I would love to see a change in our next contract which would allow us to donate sick, personal and/or vacation time to a fellow employee in cases such as this. Prison guards in my area routinely do this when one of their own is faced with such a situation.
Good idea, though it's sad that we don't have as much say in the wording of the next contract as we should. It's probably all drawn up and ready to be signed already.:dissapointed:
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
Pup

All things being equal, I understand your thought. But there is a special bump up in he knowledge that is is a brother in brown. Yes it would be bad for anyone to go through, but it takes on a special significance when it is one our own.

To each their own on that, the guy has lost his child, and could lose his wife as well. Either way, he has a long road to go down.

d
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
Awful situation here, terrible loss.

I do wonder if I had been in the same situation if I would have done the FMLA thing? I mean, what am I doing all day? She's in a coma, I might as well work, and visit at night.

I'm not being insensitive, it's what I would have done.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
9.5

When decisions are made minute to minute, it helps to be where they can reach you. It also prevents UPS having to find a driver to cover your route mid day when something like the death of his daughter occurs.

Also, I have worked (not by choice) during times when there was death that was imminent, or other traumatic losses occurred.

You want to talk about distracted driving.......

d
 

stevetheupsguy

sʇǝʌǝʇɥǝndsƃnʎ
Awful situation here, terrible loss.

I do wonder if I had been in the same situation if I would have done the FMLA thing? I mean, what am I doing all day? She's in a coma, I might as well work, and visit at night.

I'm not being insensitive, it's what I would have done.
I'm with you on this, brotha. JMHO, as always.
 
When my wife,girlfriend at the time,had her accident and it looked like she might die during those first couple of weeks I was gone from work the entire time. This was before FMLA. At the time I told my ctr I wasn`t coming in one way or another and the ctr mgr shuffled my vacation time and put me down for RLO to cover for me. Even from then until she left the hospital 3 1/2 months later I would take unpaid days off or tear up my route to get in early and go to the hospital.
I understand fully what this driver is doing as I would do the same. My condolences on his loss.
 

stevetheupsguy

sʇǝʌǝʇɥǝndsƃnʎ
When my wife,girlfriend at the time,had her accident and it looked like she might die during those first couple of weeks I was gone from work the entire time. This was before FMLA. At the time I told my ctr I wasn`t coming in one way or another and the ctr mgr shuffled my vacation time and put me down for RLO to cover for me. Even from then until she left the hospital 3 1/2 months later I would take unpaid days off or tear up my route to get in early and go to the hospital.
I understand fully what this driver is doing as I would do the same. My condolences on his loss.
And here we have yet another moving point.
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
I guess I'm old fashioned, Danny. In my marriage, it's my job to bring home the money. I'm sure my wife wouldn't want me holding her comatose hand all day for weeks maybe while we fell behind in the mortgage and the kids went hungry.

As I said, my opinion. I know it's a touchy feely feel good thing that I'm not good at.

But I'm good at working, and I pay my bills.
 
I guess I'm old fashioned, Danny. In my marriage, it's my job to bring home the money. I'm sure my wife wouldn't want me holding her comatose hand all day for weeks maybe while we fell behind in the mortgage and the kids went hungry.

As I said, my opinion. I know it's a touchy feely feel good thing that I'm not good at.

But I'm good at working, and I pay my bills.

In a serious enough situation the only thing you can think of is to spend one more minute with someone who might not be here the next. I told my sup at the time that I wasn`t coming in even if it meant I was going to quit. Fortunately they knew the situation and were kind enough not to take me up on it.
 
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