Man reveals partner’s terrifying, near-death COVID-19 experience

A gay man in New York City has shared details of his partner’s fight against COVID-19, warning the virus infection, “should be taken seriously and everyone should be terrified.”

John Giarratano is a freelance TV producer who lives with his partner of ten years, Brian Zupanick, in Queens, NYC. The city has emerged as a coronavirus hotspot in the US.

When Giarratano, 42, developed a fever on Friday, March 6, both men were concerned but not unduly panicked. “There was no cough. No labored breathing,” Zupanick, 39, told Pixx11 last week, also noting that Giarratano has no pre-existing health conditions.

However, Giarratano’s symptoms got worse over the following weekend. By the Monday, his fever had hit 102 degrees. As he had no breathing problems, the men followed advice not to go to the ER. However, by Wednesday, March 11, Giarratano’s fever had reached 103.6, and on Thursday, March 12, they went to Urgent Care in Howard Beach.

Related: Viciously anti-LGBTQ group runs Central Park tent hospital & forces volunteers to reject gay rights

At first, medical staff thought he had flu or pneumonia. Later that same day, he developed a cough and his breathing became labored.

“The next day, he called me to say, ‘I’m really scared. I can’t breathe at all’,” Zupanick told People.

“I was concerned because John’s like a rock. He never gets sick. He has no preexisting conditions. They ran panels and got results back on everything except COVID-19.

“The hospital soon went into lockdown and no visitors were allowed anymore. By that point, John was getting worse. His breathing became really labored. It just moved so quickly. He called me. He was trying to talk, but he was so out of breath, he couldn’t even say the words. He just said, “Can’t breathe. The heart doctor’s here, ICU too.” And then he hung up.”

Giarratano’s condition deteriorated and he was transferred to ICU at Mt. Sinai Hospital, Oceanside, where he was intubated and given oxygen. However, the hospital was still awaiting the results of his COVID-19 tests. The tests had been sent to a lab in New Jersey. That lab had sent them on to another lab in North Carolina.

Zupanick found out the results might not arrive back until Wednesday, March 18. The hospital was treating Giarratano with anti-virals but holding off on using other medications until his results came back positive.

“We were running out of options waiting for this test, and his health was getting worse,” says Zupanick. “I called the lab again and I was like, ‘What is going on with this test? My partner is going to die waiting for it. He cannot start treatment without a positive result.’ They said they might have the results by March 20th or 21st; I said, ‘He’s going to be dead’ and hung up.”

Related: Gay couple marry in their NYC apartment during coronavirus lockdown

Desperate, Zupanick emailed the President of Mount Sinai, not expecting a response.

“Within seven minutes, the president of Mount Sinai responded to me. He had John’s COVID-19 test expedited and then I got a phone call from the administrator saying that the head of infectious disease approved treatment without the test, and he started it immediately. I was so thankful.”

Giarratano’s results later came back positive for COVID-19.

Giarratano’s condition stabilized but he remained critical. He had to be transferred to another part of the hospital for different treatments. Even moving him at this stage came with dire risks, but it was managed successfully. Giarratano remained on ventilators for several days and his condition has slowly improved.

Zupanick wants to warn people about the seriousness of COVID-19, and no-one should assume that they will be fine if they acquire it.

“People also don’t think about the fact that all of these family members, like me, can’t even see their loved ones. That fact alone can make it extremely stressful, and you add everything else on top of that, it’s truly a nightmare. I’m going over two weeks of not being by his side through all of this, and now he’s awake and I still can’t see him.”

There’s also the stress of the medical bills. As a freelancer, Giarratano was waiting for 90 days to pass to be eligible for new insurance coverage. However, he fell ill before the 90-day period had elapsed, leaving the couple facing crippling medical bills.

Zupanick says costs have averaged around $10,000 to cover his ICU treatment. He’s set up a GoFundMe, which at the time of writing has raised $18,171 of a $150,000 target.

In an update posted yesterday, Zupanick said, “John has recently been taken off the ventilator, and he’s currently being monitored. Even though we have a long road of recovery ahead, it’s truly a miracle that he is now breathing on his own. I am overwhelmed with the love and support that we have received, and I want to thank everyone for your positive thoughts, prayers, and continued support.”

In a statement to Queerty, Zupanick said, “They’re currently monitoring John, and he’s doing very well at the moment. I’m so relieved, and we’re taking it day by day.”

Related: Leslie Jordan trying to avoid going stir crazy is all of us right now

At a press conference yesterday, President Donald Trump, who has been criticized for downplaying the risk posed by the virus in the early days of the pandemic, appeared to change tack, warning the US, “I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead. This is going to be a very, very painful two weeks.”

For the latest advice on COVID-19, check the CDC and WHO websites.

www.queerty.com/man-reveals-partners-terrifying-near-death-covid-19-experience-20200401?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Bill Gates Calls for National Lockdown: ‘Shutdown Anywhere Means Shutdown Everywhere’

Bill Gates called for a national lockdown in a Washington Post op-ed in which he laid out three steps to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Said Gates: “Because people can travel freely across state lines, so can the virus. The country’s leaders need to be clear: Shutdown anywhere means shutdown everywhere. Until the case numbers start to go down across America — which could take 10 weeks or more — no one can continue business as usual or relax the shutdown. Any confusion about this point will only extend the economic pain, raise the odds that the virus will return, and cause more deaths.”

Gates also called for the U.S. government to step up testing and develop “a data-based approach to developing treatments and a vaccine.”

“In 2015, I urged world leaders in a TED talk to prepare for a pandemic the same way they prepare for war — by running simulations to find the cracks in the system,” Gates added. “As we’ve seen this year, we have a long way to go. But I still believe that if we make the right decisions now, informed by science, data and the experience of medical professionals, we can save lives and get the country back to work.”

Gates’s 2015 Ted Talk:

The post Bill Gates Calls for National Lockdown: ‘Shutdown Anywhere Means Shutdown Everywhere’ appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Bill Gates Calls for National Lockdown: ‘Shutdown Anywhere Means Shutdown Everywhere’

In-Home Learning: Poetry, Queerness and Childhood Acceptance

Welcoming Schools Wednesdays: Activities and Resources for Inclusive Learning at Home

Each week while most students are out of school due to COVID-19, HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools will offer a book and a related activity adapted from our teacher lesson plans for parents to use with children at home. Our featured books will focus on Welcoming Schools themes: embracing all families, being an ally and respecting differences inclusive of LGBTQ identities. Don’t have the book? Don’t worry! We will provide a link to online readings to each book.

Week 2: Join Us As We Celebrate National Poetry Month!

Post submitted by: William Whitmire, HRC Communications Coordinator

This week, HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools program is excited to celebrate National Poetry Month. Founded in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month is the largest literary celebration in the world with schools, poets and communities coming together to celebrate poetry’s essential place in our lives.

Poetry offers people the ability to express how they feel, who they are and what they aspire to be. As acclaimed LGBTQ poet and advocate Audre Lorde wrote, “My poetry comes from the intersection of me and my world.”

We’re excited to feature some of our favorite poems and artwork created by third graders using the  Welcoming Schools “Social Justice Acrostic Poem” lesson plan. 

No Matter What by tw

no matter what you look like, you matter.

no matter who you are, you can make a difference,

the world matters.

you can make a really awesome world.

Malala by NC

Maker of schools

Awesome at speaking to millions of people

Lover of education

Amazing at school

Lots of education

And that is the end of the poem MALALA

Be You by HT

Be you,

be what you love,

Be you,

be bold,

be bright,

Shine in the light.

Activity: Make Your Own Acrostic Poem and Artwork!

An acrostic poem is a poem where certain letters in each line spell out a word or phrase. In this activity, we’ll be using the first letter of each line. 

And remember — a poem is just words that you put together to show how you feel, or create something fun and new with your imagination. It doesn’t have to be any particular form or way. 

• Ask your child to help you come up with a list of words or phrases on social justice movements and important issues that they care about. Examples might include: Black Lives Matter, respect all languages, animal rights, climate change, migration is beautiful, LGBTQ rights, water is life, disability rights, or March for Our Lives…
• Once you come up with your list, ask your child to pick a word or phrase they want to make a poem about. 
• Working with colored pencils or markers have your child write a final version of their poem using different colors and different sizes of writing for each word..
• Once your child has written their poem, they can make a drawing to illustrate it. 
• Proudly display the poem and art on your fridge! And share with HRC on social media! Tag @HRC on Twitter and @HumanRightsCampaign on Instagram. 

To find the Welcoming Schools lesson plan featuring social justice poems, check out Welcoming Schools family lessons. To find great books about families, check out these family book lists. 

HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools is the nation’s premier professional development program providing training and resources such as book lists and lesson plans to elementary school educators to embrace all families, create LGBTQ and gender-inclusive schools, prevent bias-based bullying, and support transgender and non-binary students.

www.hrc.org/blog/in-home-learning-poetry-queerness-and-childhood-acceptance?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Seth Meyers Asks Elizabeth Warren About Joining a Biden or Sanders Ticket, Social Distancing, and SNL: WATCH

Elizabeth Warren appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Tuesday night and fielded a few questions about the coronavirus crisis, possibly becoming running mate with or endorsing Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders, and Kate McKinnon’s SNL impression.

“I have not talked with people about it,” Warren said of joining a ticket. “Look, I’m focused right now on this [coronavirus] crisis. Last week, we were negotiating a record $2 trillion bill to try to support health-care workers and to try to support our economy, and now I’m trying to push hard for this oversight part of it, sending letters to Secretary Mnuchin. That’s just where my attention is focused right now, and frankly I think it’d be presumptuous for me to be doing anything else.”

Asked Meyers: “You haven’t endorsed a candidate yet, and it certainly seems like your positions line up more in lockstep with Senator Sanders than they do with Joe Biden. Are you going to endorse, or is this something you’re considering to wait on?”

Replied Warren: “You know, again, I really want to say that, right now, it’s less about the politics and much more about the crisis that our country is in, and I think that’s really where our focus has got to be at this moment. So that’s where I’m keeping my attention right now. We don’t get to do any political rallies at this moment anyway.”

Warren also revealed what she has been binge watching, her dog Bailey, and her thoughts on the coronavirus stimulus bill.

Warren also talked about her plan for fighting a pandemic like COVID-19.

The post Seth Meyers Asks Elizabeth Warren About Joining a Biden or Sanders Ticket, Social Distancing, and SNL: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Seth Meyers Asks Elizabeth Warren About Joining a Biden or Sanders Ticket, Social Distancing, and SNL: WATCH