A Pennsylvania man whose wife won a court battle to treat his COVID-19 infection with the controversial drug, ivermectin dies one week after receiving his first dose, according to USA Today.
Keith Smith, 52, was diagnosed with COVID on Nov. 10. A week later he was admitted to the UPMC Memorial hospital in Shiloh, Pa. By Nov. 21, his condition had deteriorated and be was transferred to the ICU and placed on a ventilator in a medically induced coma.
According to USA Today, his wife Darla sued UPMC Memorial to get the hospital to treat his COVID with ivermectin even though the drug is not authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to treat the disease.
In a Dec. 3 ruling, a York County judge allowed Darla to have an independent physician administer the drug. Keith received his first dose of ivermectin on Dec. 5. The independent physician ended the treatment after a second dose because his condition worsened.
He died Sunday evening with Darla and their two sons at his bedside.
“Tonight, around 7:45 p.m., my precious husband breathed his last breath,” Darla wrote on the website caringbridge.org, according to USA Today.
She praised the nurses at UPMC, writing “You cared for Keith for over 21 days. You dosed him with the medicines the doctors prescribed. You cleaned him and groomed him, moved him, propped him up, dealt with every mess, every smell, every trial. Everything. I appreciate you.”
“That’s all I’ll say about UPMC at this time. You’re incredibly lucky to have the nurses you do, jackwads. Treat them better,” she wrote.
She would not say whether her husband had been vaccinated.
