In an article for the latest issue of Stanford Medicine magazine, I provide a glimpse into the journey Free and his front-line Stanford Health Care colleagues took — from Day 1 through the following weeks and months — to provide the best care for patients who were severely ill with the mysterious new disease.

As the story describes: “No one on the ICU had cared for patients with this illness before. There were no standardized treatment guidelines, and very little reliable research existed. Mostly, there were just rampant rumors of high mortality rates and even higher levels of contagion. The ICU team had to start from scratch.”

Respiratory therapist Dwayne Free and Chiara Stetson, RN, in Stanford Hospital’s ICU. The obstacles were many and the quest for answers kept them up at night.

The extremely contagious nature of the disease meant family members had to stay away from their loved ones, further complicating care and recovery.

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