NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A police officer is often one of the first responders at a scene, but one Norfolk officer now needs your help.
Seth Amos seemed like a healthy and fit 29-year-old, but then he started having trouble breathing.
After five trips to the hospital in 10 days, his doctors, family and friends realized something was seriously wrong. Now, he’s fighting to breathe.
“His nickname on his platoon is he’s the moral compass,” said Seth’s father, former Norfolk Police Officer Chris Amos. “He shouldn’t be where he is.”
Chris says his son seemed to be in great health, until a few weeks ago when Seth started complaining about his lungs.
“You would look at him and he’d say “I’m having trouble breathing.” You’re gonna be fine, you’re gonna be fine. Until it just progressed,” said Chris.
After five trips to the hospital in 10 days, Seth was admitted.
“It’s the equivalent of running like marathon after marathon after marathon, night and day for over two weeks,” Chris said of what his son was feeling.
At first, doctors worked to figure out what was wrong. But on Monday, Seth’s lungs collapsed and he was rushed from Sentara Leigh to Sentara Norfolk General.
Chris said, “The next 15 minutes of his life probably would be the most important part of his life.”
He survived the trip, and immediately doctors did a procedure in the Intensive Care Unit.
“They brought everybody into his room,” Chris said. “The doctor came out afterwards and said the procedure went well, he’s stable, thank God, he is stable. But he would tell us that he wouldn’t have survived the trip from the second floor to the third floor operating room, He had a foot in heaven.”
Seth is now sedated and on an ECMO machine, which is breathing for him.
“This has just been a real shock and wake up to everybody,” Chris said. “There’s a Bible verse that says trust in the Lord with all your heart and not on your own understanding, and that’s what we’re doing because this makes no sense.”
Chris is asking the community to pray for Seth, as he fights to take another breath.
Thursday afternoon, Seth was driven to Inova Health in northern Virginia. Norfolk Police and Virginia State Police escorted his ambulance.
Chris says Seth arrived in stable condition, but doctors there found problems with his kidneys. Because of that, Seth is not eligible for a lung transplant right now. Chris also says doctors are using a two-track strategy to try and repair Seth’s lungs, while also working on the kidneys. Blood loss is also a concern.
Friends have set up a GoFundMe to help cover medical expenses and have a fundraiser planned for next month.