Intensive Care: Vietnam veteran Ralph Bye's battle with COVID-19

Ralph Bye and his wife, Debra, took all precautions they could in their Post Falls home after the pandemic started, despite their initial skepticism about its severity. In December, 73-year-old Vietnam veteran Ralph Bye became one of hundreds of local residents treated in the ICU at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. Then he became one of the region's 450-plus residents who've died.

Section:Gallery

Sun., Jan. 24, 2021

Nurse Julie Mathews updates the chart of COVID-19 patient Ralph Bye in the ICU at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Vietnam veteran Ralph Bye, 73, of Post Falls lies in prone position in the ICU at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center while battling COVID-19 on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. He succumbed to the disease on Dec. 21.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
"People call me a hero. But I don’t often feel like a hero, because the patients that I have cared for, thus far, have not survived," says registered nurse Julie Mathews in the ICU at Providence Sacred Heart on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. "I’m sure some of my colleagues have had success, but I personally have not had any success."

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Respiratory therapist Roger Angel, center, listens to patients' reports during a staff meeting in the ICU at Providence Sacred Heart on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
"his is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I feel like all I do is put on PPE and withdraw care. I used to do that about once a week. Now I do it twice a day. I used to fix people, now I do this," said respiratory therapist Roger Angel as he puts on PPE before caring for a COVID-19 patient in the ICU at Providence Sacred Heart on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Palliative Care specialist Dr. Lisa Stiller talks with a family member of a COVID-19 patient at Providence Sacred Heart on Thursday, January 14, 2021. "Not being able to see their loved ones is very hard on these families," she said.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Nurse Julie Mathews tends to COVID-19 patient Ralph Bye in the ICU at Providence Sacred Heart on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. Bye later died, on Dec. 21.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review