{"id":34420,"date":"2020-03-29T06:42:05","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T13:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/?p=34420"},"modified":"2020-03-31T07:40:25","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T14:40:25","slug":"an-asian-american-covid-19-story-has-a-happy-almost-ending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/29\/an-asian-american-covid-19-story-has-a-happy-almost-ending\/","title":{"rendered":"An Asian-American COVID-19 Story Has a Happy (Almost) Ending"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A very sad and worrisome period for a prominent Filipino-American legal writer and blogger seems to be headed for a brighter ending. David Lat, who started blogging as a legal-industry gossip blogger, rose to editor of <em>Wonkette<\/em>, then ran the influential legal blog <em>Above the Law<\/em>, shocked the internet two weeks ago with his revelation that he was suffering from a nasty COVID-19 infection that required hospitalization and oxygen. His husband Zachary had also contacted the virus but experienced mild symptoms and quarantined at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Folks, this <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CoronavirusOutbreak?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CoronavirusOutbreak<\/a> is no joke. I\u2019ll give you occasional updates, tweeting from \u201cAbove the Hospital Bed,\u201d about how serious <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> aka <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#coronavirus<\/a> can be. Think of this as <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LatsCovid19Journal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LatsCovid19Journal<\/a>, my thoughts on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LivingWithCovid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LivingWithCovid<\/a>. [Thread] <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pFXkAGWu3O\">pic.twitter.com\/pFXkAGWu3O<\/a><\/p>&mdash; David Lat (@DavidLat) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DavidLat\/status\/1239997293086027778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 17, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Shortly after, Zachary reported that David&#8217;s condition had worsened. Over the last two weeks he was put on a ventilator and sedated, and the family and friends had very little news to report. This week he was briefly given several experimental treatments, but then left to see what direction his infection would take. His condition was &#8220;hit or miss&#8221; and no one certain of his survival.  Finally, today he was able to tweet again and post to his Facebook to swat away reports of his demise. Here&#8217;s his statement and an encouraging song from Zach and their son Harlan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>I  don\u2019t want to be presumptuous, since my condition is stable but still  serious. I require 24\/7 oxygen, I need a nurse\u2019s help for even the  simplest tasks, and I only just now progressed to solid foods. So I\u2019m  not out of the proverbial woods yet. A number of patients released from  the hospital after seemingly successful fights with #Covid19 aka  #coronavirus have been readmitted (and some of these patients have even  died).<\/p><p> At the same time, I do have some good news to share  (especially since a bunch of \u201cfake news\u201d websites in the Philippines  have issued reports of my death &#8211; greatly exaggerated, I can assure  you).<\/p><p> First, I was just transferred out of the ICU &#8211; to a floor  that\u2019s not nearly as nice, but the transfer bodes well because they save  ICU beds for the sickest patients. Second, I\u2019m doing worlds better than  I was this time last time last week, when I was unconscious and  intubated, having a machine breathe for me because I couldn\u2019t do so  myself. <\/p><p> I also don\u2019t want to be ungrateful. And no matter how my  story ends, I know that I will be forever thankful for all of the  prayers and thoughts that you have sent me and my family over the past  few weeks. I will also be eternally grateful to all the wonderful  doctors, nurses, and other dedicated healthcare professionals who are on  the front lines of our battle with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hashtag\/covid19?source=feed_text&amp;epa=HASHTAG\">#Covid19<\/a> aka <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hashtag\/coronavirus?source=feed_text&amp;epa=HASHTAG\">#Coronavirus<\/a>, here at NYU Langone Health and elsewhere.<\/p><p>  As mentioned earlier, I\u2019m not out of the woods yet. But I\u2019m upbeat and  optimistic, strengthened by all your thoughts, prayers, and wishes for a  speedy recovery.<\/p><p> Much as my parents love looking after Harlan &#8211;  grandparents are the babysitters who thank YOU at the end of the  experience &#8211; I look forward to checking out of here before too long and  being reunited with Harlan, Zach, my family, my-in-laws, and all of you,  my dear friends and loved ones. Thank you once again for everything,  and see you soon!<\/p><p> With Much Love, <br \/> David<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>David Lat on Facebook<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>**UPDATE** David is getting much better, finally able to breathe without supplemental oxygen. He hopes to be back home later this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Achievement unlocked: no longer on oxygen! We tapered it down gradually after I was extubated last week, and last night while I was asleep they cut it off entirely. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#coronavirus<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CoronaBoy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CoronaBoy<\/a><\/p>&mdash; David Lat (@DavidLat) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DavidLat\/status\/1244985799868907521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 31, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-facebook wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-facebook\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/315150\/posts\/10102726349156234\/?d=n\" data-width=\"552\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block;\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption><strong><em>The reports of David&#8217;s death are, fortunately, greatly exaggerated&#8230;<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Happy that it appears that David Lat is on his way to a successful recovery, and we hope he&#8217;s safe and sound with his husband and son very soon. Get well, David!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A very sad and worrisome period for a prominent Filipino-American legal writer and blogger seems to be headed for a brighter ending. David Lat, who started blogging as a legal-industry gossip blogger, rose to editor of Wonkette, then ran the [&hellip;] <a class=\"g1-link g1-link-more\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/29\/an-asian-american-covid-19-story-has-a-happy-almost-ending\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3442,110,3441],"tags":[4679,4668,4680,1972],"class_list":{"0":"post-34420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment-2","8":"category-exercise-tips","9":"category-news","10":"tag-asian-american-celebrities","11":"tag-coronavirus","12":"tag-david-lat","13":"tag-filipino"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/DavidlAT.jpg","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pZ6qn-8Xa","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34420"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34436,"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34420\/revisions\/34436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.peterfever.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}