Hi Julie,
First, the orchid you have is most likely a dendrobium, not epidendrum. I don't know much about dendrobiums, and I've never had much success with them, but I suspect that a couple of things you did in the first month contributed to its degradation.
If you've been using plain tap water, you should not have used eggshells - the tap water has a high enough pH. If anything, it should be acidified a little.
This 'orchid fertilizer' - did you buy it at a big box store, and is it in the form of a blue powder? Don't use it; it's far too harsh and far too high in nitrogen. And fertilizing while the plant is in bloom is not a good idea.
Watering once a week - in some cases, that's too often. Many commercial orchids are potted up in tightly packed sphagnum moss, which stays soggy for 3-4 weeks. The fact that some roots you felt were spongy indicates that they didn't get a chance to dry out and therefore rotted.
Not all is lost, dendrobiums are very tough plants, and while yours may have been set back, it will most likely recover and adapt to your growing environment. In the meantime, do some research on dendrobium culture and especially fertilizers. There is a lot of information on this forum alone.
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