Donna's Story
At first, Donna McBride-Lemus’ stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea was easy to ignore, especially as Donna, 55, focused on caring for her elderly mother. But when her symptoms worsened, Donna suspected she might have food poisoning and asked her husband to take her to the hospital.
Doctors at AdventHealth Orlando discovered a hole in Donna’s small intestine and performed emergency surgery. Afterward, she faced serious complications: a blood clot in her lungs caused her heart to stop and she needed a ventilator to breathe. She also developed multiple infections, her kidneys were failing and an open wound on her abdomen made it necessary for her to receive nutrition intravenously.
For 37 days, Donna fought to recover. She no longer needed the ventilator and her kidneys had fully recovered, but the wound on her abdomen had not healed. Her muscles were also deconditioned from her hospitalization. Recognizing she would benefit from the care provided by a hospital that specializes in treating medically complex patients, her care team recommended she transfer to Select Specialty Hospital – Orlando Central, now Select Specialty Hospital – Orlando Central.
Shortly after she arrived, her physician-led multidisciplinary team developed a personalized treatment plan that included wound care and therapy to her reach her goals of walking again and returning home to care for her mother.
Donna received advanced wound care from specially trained nurses, who provided twice-daily dressing changes, expertly managed drainage systems and coordinated her medication regimen.
Donna still could not eat by mouth because her abdominal wound, known as a fistula, could have allowed her intestinal contents to leak. As Donna’s wound healed, she was able to slowly consume liquids. Six weeks into her stay, she transitioned to a full liquid diet and the IV nutrition tube was removed.
As that care was underway, Donna’s physical and occupational therapy teams immediately began working to rebuild her strength, range of motion and balance. Initially, she needed extensive assistance to sit up and get in and out of bed. Physical therapy focused on core control and strength training exercises such as sit-to-stand movements or shifting her weight forward and side-to-side. Donna quickly advanced from sitting to standing within two days of her arrival.
Twenty-one days later, she could walk with moderate assistance. By discharge, she was traveling 175 feet with a rolling walker.
“The physical therapists pushed me to overcome my fears,” said Donna. And by managing her medical drains and lines around her wheelchair, they took her outside for the first time in nearly than two months – a moment she recognized as a major step forward in her recovery.
Donna’s occupational therapy focused on restoring her independence with daily self-care tasks such as dressing, bathing, grooming and toilet transfers. In time, Donna could tolerate sitting upright in a wheelchair for several hours per day – an accomplishment she saw as a sign she would make it home. She also could complete dynamic activities while standing, such as reaching for an object.
Throughout her recovery, Donna remained motivated, crediting the encouragement of her nurses, therapists and regular family visits, including her brother who traveled from New Jersey.
“It has been good,” she said. “Everyone here has helped me.”
Seven weeks after arriving at Select Specialty Hospital, Donna met her goal of walking again and was ready to transfer to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital. One step closer to her other key goal - returning home. She especially looked forward to “sleeping in my own bed with my eight pillows” and “eating good food.”