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ARDS
Stories |
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Lisa Snow is a 46 year old wife and mother from Georgia and this is her story.
On September 19, 2005, after helping her daughter move the day before, Lisa awoke with what she thought was a pulled muscle in her back. She kept thinking it would get better but four days later, she went to the doctor.
Immediately, Lisa was sent to the hospital for an MRI. Lisa was told that she had a spot in her lung and they wanted to admit her that day. But because she was an hour from home, she decided to go to her local doctor on Monday. Lisa feared that she had cancer and wanted to be close to her family.
Lisa was diagnosed with double pneumonia and started oxygen. After two days, she thought that she was getting better but suddenly it all fell apart. Lisa was moved to the ICU, put on life support and in a medically induced coma that was supposed to last two to three days.
Lisa learned that she had allergic reactions to two of the many drugs she was on. Her kidneys shut down. She went from 125 lbs. to 160 lbs. quickly. Lisa was sent to Atlanta in an ambulance and remained in the coma for 30 days. In Atlanta, she was diagnosed with ARDS. Her weight then plummeted to 108 lbs and her eyes filled with blood.
Once Lisa started coming out of the coma, she was both stubborn and hilarious. She is still hearing some of the funny things she said and did while she was "not quite myself".
After hours of Lisa's family explaining things to her, she did not really understand until a month later when she could walk upstairs and get online. She got all of her medical records and then began to understand the extent of what happened.
Lisa feels blessed. She has some vision issues but otherwise, she is almost 100%. Lisa feels that all of the prayers got her through the most difficult times. She only had to have dialysis twice. She feels that her ARDS was just a movie that everyone else saw and they now are telling her about the specifics. She knows that the love of family and friends and the love of her Lord carried all of them through those dark days
Peter's story, as well as his hospital stay, is a long one with an outcome so much more then anyone ever expected.
Nancy's brother was sixty three years young when he went into the hospital on January 7, 2006 with pneumonia. Nancy and her sister thought that Peter might be discharged the next day but that very day, Peter went into respiratory arrest and was intubated.
Next followed months of highs and lows, agitation, fevers, infections, and other complications. Doctor's kept tell Nancy's sister-in-law that Peter only had a 5% chance of surviving. Doctors asked her whether she 'really wanted her husband to live like this?'
She told doctors that Peter had a lot to live for and to treat him aggressively, as if this was their brother. A couple days later, Peter began to make improvements and although there have been ups and downs, Peter has a target date of approximately July 31, 2006.
It has been over six months since Peter entered the hospital. He is doing fabulously! He is eating, dressing himself, exercising, and doing other activities. But because of his dire prognosis, it was difficult for people to believe he would ever come home.
Peter is a very determined and positive person and although he does not
Remember the majority of things that happened to him in those months, he always keeps a positive attitude. Peter's wife, Gina, has been his 'angel on earth' because she has been by his side, his advocate through all of this.
Nancy wants everyone to try to stay positive while supporting a loved one in ARDS crisis. Peter is experiencing a miracle and his loved ones are forever grateful!
Nancy wished it for other family's who are likewise dealing with this.
Peter and Gina live in Medesto, California. Soon everyone hopes to be watching Peter and Gina on the dance floor, wowing everyone!
Brandy's story begins on January 26, 2006, when she was thirty years old and pregnant with her second child.
After she began to cough up blood, she went to the hospital and learned she had double pneumonia.
Brandy was transferred to Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, Texas where a team of doctors awaited her arrival. Brandy was not told how sick she was but they delivered her son a month early and then she was put on a ventilator and in a drug induced coma. She had both ARDS and sepsis and had to be trached. Her doctors did not have much hope and at one point, Brandy 'died on the table' but was revived.
Brandy's illness was the usual ARDS roller coaster but eventually, Brandy awoke, staring at a plain white wall that she knew was her hospital room but she did not know where she was or what had happened. Her legs felt paralyzed. But gradually, Brandy was able to move to rehab to relearn everything. She spent fourteen days and then was sent home in a wheelchair.
Brandy's mother cared for her while her husband cared for her son. Brandy did not see her son for three months.
Brandy has been able to get off most of the medications but still takes some for nerve damage and depression. She has trouble breathing and feels like she cannot get enough air.
Brandy lives in Texas and currently has two children, 11 and 3 years old.
Sarah Beth had just celebrated her 49th birthday on May 16, 2002. She had been eating healthy, walking three to four miles a day, and lost 22 lbs over a period of three months. Sarah Beth felt great!
On the Friday night before Memorial Day, May 24, Sarah Beth started running a low-grade fever, just enough to make her feel lousy, and had a slight cough. The next morning, however, she had a fever of 102.
Sarah Beth had planned to spend the day with her mother, but decided to stay home. An on call doctor said it was likely viral and to take Tylenol and stay hydrated. The fever would go down and then spike back up to 103 degrees.
Sarah Beth's mother came to stay with her at her house, and then Sarah Beth went to bed. Sunday, Sarah Beth was unable to go to church. Her friend Linda checked on her and called the on call doctor, who told her that same thing he had told Sarah Beth, that it was likely viral. But that night, Sarah Beth could not get out of bed, could not eat or drink.
On Monday, Linda brought her blood pressure cuff and told Sarah Beth that her pressure was 90/60. Linda told Sarah Beth it was time to go to the ER. Once there, her blood pressure dropped to 60/30. A doctor soon told Sarah Beth that she had bilateral bacterial pneumonia and that she would be admitted.
Sarah Beth was on oxygen and huge doses of antibiotics. At the local hospital, they were unable to draw off the fluid drowning her for fear of puncturing her lungs. By Friday, May 31, 2002, one of the doctors said Sarah Beth's breathing was so shallow she needed to be on a ventilator. But Sarah Beth's family began the process of getting her transferred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, even though they knew that there were risks involved.
On June 1, Sarah Beth was transferred. At that time, her family learned that she was in septic shock and had ARDS. Sarah Beth's kidneys failed on June 4 and dialysis was started. On June 7, Sarah Beth's family was told how grim her prognosis was. She was put in a drug induced coma. She was morbidly swollen. She had machines, tubes and IVs everywhere. Finally, doctors decided to try Xigris, a drug used to treat sepsis, for about seventy-two hours. During this time, Sarah Beth would improve and then decline but finally she did improve slightly, the swelling went down and she was able to stop dialysis.
On June 26, doctors tried to reduce her morphine but Sarah Beth suffered a seizure and had to be sedated deeply. The seizure was so bad that doctors told Sarah Beth's family that she might be brain dead. Eventually, on July 2, the ventilator was removed and the morphine stopped.
On July 5, Sarah Beth was transferred out of ICU. She was shocked to learn how sick she was. On July 9, she was transferred to Stallworth for rehabilitation. After a few days in a wheel chair, Sarah Beth decided she needed to get out of this facility and she began to work very hard, until she was exhausted. On July 29, 2002, Sarah Beth was walking quite unsteadily with a cane.
Sarah Beth has vivid memories of what she calls her "morphine dreams." Also,
Sarah Beth talks about life BA (Before ARDS) and AA (After ARDS). It is like she had two separate lives. Her IQ is different, her personality is different, and her outlook on life is different. Sarah Beth says that she will never be the same old Sarah Beth that everyone remembers and seems to want her to be. Life is too precious and too short.
Sarah Beth continued physical therapy for six more weeks. Financially, she wanted to get back to work even though she had full benefits with the company she had been with for twenty-seven years.
Sarah Beth started working half days on September 10. Thankfully, she was able to work from home. On October 1, she began to work full time. Two weeks later, due to a reorganization, her workload doubled. Sarah Beth wished someone would have told her to take at least six months off work to recovery fully--no one mentioned what was ahead.
Sarah Beth struggled for the next three years with her job. Since she worked from home, she was able to hide her difficulties. Her organizational skills suffered a tremendous hit. Her concentration ability is almost down to zero. In 2005, Sarah Beth reached thirty years of service and retired. Now she works part time and will begin a new part time job in August, 2006.
Sarah Beth wants people to know more about ARDS and the people it affects. She feels that as a survivor of a syndrome people know little about, many survivors pretend that everything is OK, suppressing post ARDS symptoms and feelings for fear that loved ones as well as medical professionals will not understand.
Sarah Beth would love to hear from others, both in the area she lives as well as online.
Chuck's ARDS story began when his wife called 911 on August 18, 2005, after she found him with 105 degree fever and incoherent.
Chuck had just retired from the University of Virginia several months before. He was 69 years old at the time. Immediately, Chuck was diagnosed with ARDS, septic shock and a fungus infection in about 60% of his lungs.
Chuck spent 14 days in the ICU, 10 of which was in a drug induced coma. He was on a ventilator the entire time he was in the coma and on oxygen the entire time in ICU. During that time, Chuck's lung collapsed during a procedure and a chest tube was inserted. He required seven blood transfusions.
When Chuck awoke, he first saw his daughter and her two young girls looking at him; what a wonderful wake to awaken.
Though his doctors did not expect Chuck to survive those first days, he fooled them all.
During his hospitalization, Chuck was on some medications that might cause permanent damage to possibly his heart, kidneys or liver but luckily, Chucked suffered no damage. He recalls getting depressed when he learned that he could not leave the hospital but with the support of his wife, family and clergy, he persevered.
Chuck was completely deconditioned after his hospitalization and he spent the next two months at the University of Virginia Hospital recovering and relearning to use his limbs again. Chuck recalls the first time he tried to eat by himself and he could not even hold the spoon.
After two months in the hospital, Chuck was sent to a nursing home for additional physical therapy to receive medication that would have otherwise cost $1,000 a day.
After seventeen days, Chuck finally went home.
Chuck lost 40 pounds while hospitalized but has been able to put most of the weight back on. He participated in the ARDS study at the University of Pittsburgh. Once home, he continued his physical therapy at a local health club. They helped to get Chuck walking and helped with his balance issues.
At his last check up, Chuck's lungs were almost clear, but he still gets tired easily. Chuck suffers from a form of leukemia, CLL.
Today, Chuck suffers from pain in his heals when standing for more than a few minutes. His sleep is erratic, waking after a few hours and having trouble falling back to sleep.
Chuck's thoughts: "After reading all the accounts of other people, I consider myself very, very lucky man. I thank God every day for saving me and for those who prayed and stayed with me the entire time. Good luck to all of you who have gone through this terrible ordeal."
Amanda's story began in a rather unusual way. She had worked for five years in Ohio, in emergency services and loved her job, rotating between the engine as a firefighter and the ambulance as a paramedic.
It was May, 2005, when twenty-four year old Amanda was given a well deserved two week vacation; she started off that morning heading from the station immediately after getting off work despite the fact that she was feeling quite tired and run down. Amanda assumed it was just from 24 hours of stress and only 4 hours of sleep. The trip started uneventfully visiting friends, until Amanda stopped in a small town in Tennessee. Amanda decided to stop for a sandwich when she felt a sudden, sharp pain in her chest. It was persistent and would not go away, but she still thought it was nothing.
Amanda got a coke and sandwich hoping that would help and then got back into her car when the pain became so severe, she had to pull to the side of the road. Amanda tried to dial her friend but her cell phone would not connect. Luckily, a police car noticed her emergency flashers, stopped to see if Amanda needed help and called for EMS.
Though it seemed like forever before the EMS crews arrived, it was only minutes. Amanda was an experienced paramedic, but did not know what was happening, and it was frightening. Amanda asked what was happening, but was told nothing. She was rushed to the closest hospital, a tiny community hospital.
At the ER, Amanda was greeted by several doctors, nurses, and techs. Everything was going so fast, but she could not comprehend why. Suddenly, the whole picture became more clear. Amanda's heart was in a condition known as SVT or supraventricular tachycardia, meaning that her heart was just beating out of control at almost 200 beats a minute. She had a 103 degree fever and there was signs of pneumonia on the x-ray.
Amanda was started on antibiotics and admitted. Things began to look better in about two days, when suddenly her temperature spiked to 105 degrees, she started to have seizures, felt she could not breathe and that her heart was racing again.
Another chest x-ray revealed near white out. Amanda drifted between consciousness and was fighting for every breath. Her heart rate hit 220, and a call to the cardiologist revealed a scary prospect. He told the doctor Amanda was in bad shape. Soon, a helicopter was called and Amanda was flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Amanda was admitted into the ICU and packed in ice in an attempt to reduce her body temperature. She was intubated and placed under heavy sedation. Shortly thereafter, Amanda was diagnosed with sepsis and ARDS.
For nearly a month, Amanda struggled to live fighting both the sepsis and the ARDS. She remained on a ventilator paralyzed and sedated in an attempt to give her body time to heal. Gradually Amanda began to improve, the sedation was lightened, and she began to become aware of what was going on.
Amanda had difficulty in understanding how she could get so ill so quickly, especially when she had passed the department's physical less than a month before. Eventually, she learned the ARDS was triggered by the sepsis which probably occurred due to a urinary tract infection.
The doctor told Amanda that they were determined not to give up on her, no matter how difficult. Amanda learned that she had multiple blood transfusions, many antibiotics, many seizures, and how terrible her prognosis had been.
Amanda had never thought that she would die. She did not know much about ARDS and did not realize that about 50% of those diagnosed with ARDS die. The doctors told her that her recovery would be lengthy and they were not sure she would be able to return her career which she loved.
Amanda was very deconditioned when she began rehabilitation. Eventually, she got enough strength to return home, and with the encouragement of friends and my former coworkers, she improved. Still, Amanda was determined.
In June, 2006, Amanda returned to her position as a paramedic. She will be assigned to engine duty in the beginning of 2007. Amanda has been fully cleared medically and just waiting for her new assignment.
After this experience, Amanda said, "I learned to cherish every day as you never know when it will be your last. I went from being the caregiver to the one cared for in a fight for my life in a matter of days. Research needs to go into this condition as it can be so deadly, and is more common than people realize. Even being in healthcare, I knew very little about the condition. I got a crash course education. I am just blessed and thank God every day that I made it. I was given a second chance, and for that I'll forever be grateful."
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October, 2006 is three years since Mel Rudolph had ARDS. It had all began when he felt extremely weak after gardening. Mel drove himself to the emergency room; he was cold and weak. His wife, Rose, was at his side.
After Mel received a couple of tests, Rose called their daughter, Laura, and told her that Mel was in the ICU with pneumonia. Mel and Rose lived in Las Vegas; Laura lived in Chicago.
Mel, who was 70 years old, had not had any recent surgery, was not ill, though he had been diagnosed and treated for colin cancer. He was active and healthy. Mel was admitted to to the hospital on September 5, 2003.
Mel was not getting better and after three days, they said that he had ARDS. A specialist told Rose that he had a leak somewhere that his oxygen is leaking from. Rose remained by Mel's side every moment. Their three children all lived out of state and Rose was on her own to deal with everything. Rose had been through health issues herself, having been breast cancer survivor, and open heard surgery survivor, and a type A diabetic. She also had COPD, but still, she remained by Mel's side.
After two weeks in ICU, all of the kids flew in to spend time with both Mom and Dad. The fear in Mel's eyes were the hardest thing for Laura to handle. Sons Irwin and Jeff took turns staying for weeks at a time to help Rose. Mel and Rose had been married for 52 years.
Laura was frustrated with the many miles between her and her parents. But she found support from the ARDS Foundation website and people who had dealt with ARDS. Jackie, who lost her husband to ARDS and lived in the area, spent time with Rose and was always at her side when the news was not good.
In October, Mel was placed in a drug induced coma in an effort to allow the breathing to slow. His trach was in but still the oxygen level was not remaining constant. When the level became steady, they attempted to move him to a rehab center but within hours, he was back in the ICU.
In November, all functions were failing. Laura's younger brother Jeff and his family were to Las Vegas to spend the Thanksgiving week Rose and Mel. Laura's phone rang that night Jeff was still miles away from arriving. Rose's words were ones Laura will never forget, "They don't think Dad will make it through the night. Don't tell Jeff while he's on the road." Jeff arrived at midnight, and headed to the hospital to be with his parents. At 6:00 AM Chicago time, Laura heard more words she would never forget: "He passed away just moments ago". That was on November 25, 2003.
It was also on that date that they officially lost their mother. Rose struggled with losing her life partner and though she tried to stay the strong woman she always was, within 18 months, Rose passed away. Their children believe that ARDS took both of their parents.
Though it is sad to lose both parents in such a short time, they are stronger knowing they are together.
Laura is sharing her story to honor her parent's memory, to show others how important it is to have received support from ARDS Foundation, because ARDS is so difficult to comprehend and to be able to talk to someone who understands ARDS makes a tremendous difference.
Nine months after losing their father, Laura's brother and his wife had a child whom they named Matthew Rudolph, named after his grandfather, and his sister, Allyssa Rose is named after her grandmother. Mel and Rose will always be watching over the children.
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Ards Survivor Mary Jo Hamilton
On Friday, March 11, 2005, Mary Jo, 41, her sister, and their children left Memphis, Tennessee for a Spring Break trip to Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. Mary Jo was suffering with chest congestion, but nothing too bad. They arrived Florida Saturday and Mary Jo’s congestion was a little worse. Still, she was able to go to the beach for a few hours. On Sunday, she was getting progressively worse.
On Monday, Mary Jo went to the emergency room, but was able to drive herself. She was diagnosed with the flu and bronchitis, prescribed a cough suppressant with codeine and sent home. By Tuesday, Mary Jo could not leave her bed. She began to have difficulty breathing and lost control of bodily functions. Wednesday, her condition remained the same.
On Thursday, Mary Jo’s sister took her back to the emergency room. Immediately, doctors noticed that her oxygen level was extremely low. Soon thereafter, Mary Jo was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs. She spent the night in the ER on oxygen and was still awake and aware.
Friday, she was moved to ER Intensive Care during the night. No more information regarding her condition. That same day, her sister, LeAnn had to return to Memphis with the children and leave Mary Jo behind. Mary Jo’s family was very supportive but unfortunately, not able to spend time “at her bedside”. It was more important at the time to take care of Mary Jo’s children in Memphis. However, she did have a few friends who drove down to be with her during her hospitalization...
On Saturday, Mary Jo was moved to ICU. She was forced into a medically induced coma in order to intubate her. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, sepsis and ARDS.
She was in a coma for 2 weeks. She remembers having the most incredible dream experiences of her life, felt like she was fighting for her life. Mary Jo remained in the critical care unit for three weeks and was moved to another room for another three weeks, until insurance forced her to leave, even though doctors had recommended as many as thirty more days’ inpatient care. Mary Jo made arrangements to leave for Memphis the next day.
Mary Jo’s family made arrangements to have her flown home; her sister, LeAnn, went to Florida to help her to the airport and throughout the entire flight.
During her hospitalization, Mary Jo’s children, Tyler, who was fourteen, and Hannah, eleven, stayed with LeAnn and her two teenage children. LeAnn took Mary Jo in and adapted the house so that Mary Jo would have access with walkers and other medical equipment. It would be three weeks until Mary Jo was able to walk on her own.
After a month at LeAnn’s house and daily physical therapy, Mary Jo was able to go to her own home. It would be another month before she could drive. She then returned to work, part time for one week and then full time after.
Since Mary Jo was hospitalized in Florida, she had to find all new medical care in Memphis which has proved to be difficult, especially in finding care for her post ARDS issues. One and a half years after ARDS, Mary Jo suffers post ARDS complications. She lacks energy, has trouble concentrating, weight gain, and depression. She calls herself “Lazybones” on the ARDS Foundation message board because that is how she feels about herself. Though she is on the go all day with work and her kids, she is still exhausted much of the time. However, she remains hopeful and is very grateful to everyone, but especially to God, for allowing her the opportunity to continue raising her two children.
Bill’s ARDS Story – The Triumph and the Tragedy
In May, 2005, Bill was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. He received three chemo treatments, one month apart. In August, 2005, Bill and his wife, Jane, who live in Wisconsin, learned that he was a candidate for a partial or full lung resection.
On September 2, 2005, Bill underwent a lobectomy, which was a success. After only forty-eight hours in the ICU, Bill was on his way to what appeared to be a full recovery.
That was when the nightmare began. On September 5, 2005, the phone rang at 4:00 am and Jane was told to come back to the hospital quickly; Bill was in trouble.
By the time Jane and her son arrived, Bill was being transferred back to the ICU. He was intubated again. That was when Bill was diagnosed with Acute Lung Injury. Two days later, Jane was told that Bill had ARDS.
Bill was put into a drug induced coma, given paralytics, and that is how he remained for four months. During that time, Bill's lungs collapsed as well as other complications.
In December, miraculously, Bill came out of the coma and he weaned from the vent. He was able to go five weeks vent free and during that time, was transferred to a step down unit.
Jane felt lucky to be able to stay in Bill’s room. Because of the trach, Bill was not able to speak most of the time. She learned to read his lips. And some of the time, he had a speaking valve.
Then another tragedy occurred and Bill ended up back in the ICU. By this time, Bill had been in the hospital for 180 days.
Both Bill and Jane noticed that the care he received at this point had become palliative. They decided it would be in his best interests to move to a long term acute care (LTAC) facility to get him the help he needed.
Jane found a LTAC Facility that was quite successful in getting people off of the ventilator. Bill was moved with the blessings of the staff from the hospital. But within a couple of days, Bill developed an antibiotic resistant strain of pneumonia.
Though Bill tried to fight the infection, the damage to Bill’s lungs had already been done; ARDS took Bill’s life on March 26, 2006.
Bill is survived by Jane, his loving sons, Adam, Paul,and Bill, daughter, Jen, and many other devoted friends and relatives who all miss Bill very much.
Jane feels that this was a roller coaster ride that no one should ever have to endure. She knows that there are many other families who are dealing with a loved one in ARDS crisis or grieving over the loss of a loved one and she knows that her experience will let others know that they are not alone. Jane does not have Internet access; if you would like to contact her, please email and we will provide her contact information to you.
Forty-six year old Sue felt bad during the last week in October, 2003. She thought she was getting a bad cold or bronchitis. Towards the end of the week, on Friday, Sue decided to see her doctor. He prescribed some antibiotics and inhalers and said that she had bronchitis. He advised her that if she did not improve by Monday, she should come back to see him.
Sue does not recall the next day very well. She recalls working at a charity event her brother hosted for soldiers. Sunday morning, when she tried to get out of bed, she felt she was falling and floating at the same time.
Sue thought maybe she was having a reaction to the medications that her doctor prescribed and told her husband on Sunday that she needed to go to the emergency room--something was wrong.
Sue recalls the doctor asking her strange questions... 'had she been out of the country' or 'around tropical birds?' But the only thing Sue remembers after that was the doctor telling her that her lungs were 'coated with pneumonia.' Sue was admitted into the ICU.
Sue was in a dream like state and remembers thinking she was on a cruise with a screen door and wondering how the water would stay out. Four weeks later, Sue awoke, in a different hospitia, with a nurse yelling at her to 'breath out.'
Though she does not remember what happened during that month, she was told that her body swelled three to four times larger, and that everybody thought she would die.
Sue was removed from the vent on the Sunday before Thanksgiving and the following day, she went home.Though she was supposed to go to rehabilitation and follow-up exams, her insurance failed to pay enough. She went home and recovered with the help of Steve.
Post ARDS, Sue returned to the hospital outpatient due to scar tissue in her throat. The after effects of ARDS for Sue are exhaustion, short attention span, weight gain, dental problems, vision decline, and difficulty with spelling and math.
Sue thought that she had just become lazy but then found that many in the ARDS Community are dealing with similar post ARDS issues. She hopes that in time, everyone will know about ARDS and with more awareness will come more knowledge.
On February 17, 2001, sixty-five year old Joan was driving home from work and had a very serious car accident. She was taken by Flight for Life to Rockford Memorial Hospital, the nearest trauma center where physicians initially found she had a break in the C2 (neck) vertebra but fortunately no cord damage. Joan also had a fractured pelvis and a collapsed lung. (A C2 fracture was what Christopher Reeves had after his accident.) Joan lived in Wisconsin but worked as a public health nurse in Illinois. The accident occurred at the border of the two states.
On February 18, 2001, it was found that Joan actually had four breaks in the pelvis, four fractured ribs, the third lumbar vertebra along with the 2C vertebra and the clavicle. They also found some very small blood spots on the brain from the impact of the accident.
The next morning they called Joan's husband because she became very lethargic and had labored breathing. He gave permission for Joan to be placed on a ventilator. She was unresponsive the entire day. Her blood tests were behaving oddly suggestive of an infection or an internal bleed. A cat scan revealed a puncture wound in the small bowel, which necessitated immediate surgery.
On February 19, 2001, Joan started to improve; she had good color and no sign of infection. The CAT scan showed improvement in the brain bleed and the C2 fracture showed evidence of healing. Plans were to wean Joan from the vent. Over the next two days, Joan continued to improve over the next two days and a feeding tube was put in. Chest x-ray showed some cloudiness and ARDS was a consideration so Joan was kept on the vent. The next day it seemed more likely that it was ARDS, and Joan was put on a rotator bed and additional Lasix was started for all the edema.
By the February 23, 2001, the chest x-ray did not worsen and things looked more stable, it was felt that she might have been on the verge of ARDS but holding her own. Joan remained heavily sedated because of the pain she experienced. The vent was changed at this point to one felt to be more appropriate if it were ARDS.
On February 25 and 26, Joan showed improvement. If she had not had an odd reaction with one pupil, they might have weaned her off the vent as the blood gases were good. The vent was dialed back to 12 from 14, and by March 1, 2001, the vent was turned back to 6. Joan's lungs showed considerable improvement, wheezing gone and volume improved.
At this point, they wanted to get her off the vent the next day. But her hemoglobin had dropped; Joan needed two units of blood and then became more alert and responsive. The next day, instead of getting off the vent, the setting was increased to 10 bpm but by the next day they started to lower the vent settings.
From March 4, 2001 until March 13, 2001, Joan was riding the ARDS roller coaster, with typical ups and downs that are characteristic with ARDS. Finally, on March 14, 2001, doctors decided to put in a trach. On March 15, Joan was in a regular bed and the vent was down.
Another roller coaster ride occurred on March 16, when a little fluid was found on the lung. But by March 19, 2001, Joan was able to tolerate a full minute off the vent without panicking.
On March 21, some in room therapy was started and the positive pressure support was being lowered by 1 cm. every 8 hours. By March 25, Joan was out of ICU; the work of OT, PT and speech therapy began in earnest. By March 27, Joan was off the vent for 10 hours. The weaning continued along with physical therapy. Joan's fractures continued to heal. On April 4, 2001, Joan was in rehab and the real word began.
On April 22, 2201, Joan's trach was removed and on April 23, Joan went home. home. Joan says that this was nine very painful weeks and nine weeks of riding the roller coaster but she made it home. She continued therapy and finally, the neck brace was removed a month and a half later.
Joan states: "I survived ARDS and am very thankful. At the ripe old age of 65 I feel I did pretty darn well to beat the odds. I feel that my physical condition prior to the accident played an important role in my recovery. It is 6 years now. I look at things differently. I was not able to go back to work; my endurance was limited for a long time. I do have some scarring in the lungs and some fibrotic changes but walk about 2 miles every morning, am doing a lot of active volunteer and committee work and pray daily for the others that have ARDS."
Joan feels that family members who are going through the ARDS ordeal should try to be patient and stay prayerful. Some may have a brief illness before recovery but for others it can be a lengthy trip with many obstacles in the road. Do not give up hope. The support of Joan's family, and especially her husband, gave her the incentive she needed to fight through the roughest of times.
Joan says that one of the greatest incentives during her rehabilitation was her little Schipperke who inspired her to get up and get going. She needed her walks and was very patient with Joan.
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