Matthew's Story
Matt Pardo, 55, enjoyed delivering pizzas around the St. Louis, Missouri, suburb where he lived. But a sudden medical emergency behind the wheel of his car as he drove for groceries one Sunday morning caused him to wreck, sustaining critical injuries.
“It all happened so fast,” he said. “I wasn’t feeling well and don’t remember everything.”
Rushed to the emergency department at nearby Mercy Hospital St. Louis, Matt was in acute respiratory failure. As his condition deteriorated, he was placed on a ventilator, then eventually was given a tracheostomy (trach) – a slit in his windpipe with a tube that connected to his ventilator. Heavily sedated and confused, Matt experienced delirium and struggled to understand what was happening around him.
“I wanted off the meds that were making me hallucinate,” Matt said, explaining that his hands had been restrained because in his confusion, he was pulling at the maze of medical lines going into his body. He also wanted to talk but couldn’t because of the ventilator.
After 30 days in the hospital, Matt’s condition stabilized but he was unable to breathe, talk, eat or walk on his own. He still couldn’t think clearly and his memory was poor. His brother made the decision to transfer him to Select Specialty Hospital – St. Louis, a critical illness recovery hospital.
Soon after Matt arrived, his physician-led multidisciplinary team developed a treatment plan focused on restoring his health and helping him reclaim his life.
To help Matt breathe on his own again, the respiratory therapy team immediately began lowering Matt’s ventilator settings for increasing amounts of time each day so that his lungs had to do more of the work. Matt’s breathing steadily improved. As the breathing trials were underway, therapists attached a special valve to Matt’s trach that moved air through his vocal cords, allowing him to speak for the first time since his accident.
Nine days after admission, Matt no longer needed the ventilator.
He struggled with secretions in his airway; a common problem for patients on mechanical ventilation. As his breathing continued to improve, and as he practiced tongue and swallowing exercises, he demonstrated to a speech-language pathologist that he could finally swallow ice chips without aspirating – another milestone.
Matt progressed to thickened liquids, soft foods and eventually a regular diet.
“I was excited when I was able to drink water for the first time,” Matt said, as well as the day a food services employee delivered a tray with his first real meal.
As his confusion cleared, Matt participated in exercises to improve his memory and cognition, such as having to solve a problem or recall people and events.
Matt was determined to return home and worked hard with his physical and occupational therapy teams to rebuild his strength, range of motion and balance.
On his second day at Select Specialty Hospital, he stood for one minute with minimal assistance from his therapy team, fueling hope that he would regain mobility quickly. Within six days, Matt was taking his first steps with a walker. After two more weeks of steady improvement, Matt could walk 600 feet with the walker.
Matt’s therapy often involved practicing activities of daily living, such as dressing and grooming. His first few days, he needed significant help with virtually all movement but as he regained strength, he was able to do more on his own with someone standing nearby to help.
By the time Matt discharged, he could breathe, eat, walk and talk. His cognition had improved to the point where he could manage his medications and pay his bills.
“The people are great,” Matt said. “Everyone encouraged me. They go above and beyond what they need to do for you.”
At the end of his five-week stay, Matt had reached his goals. He spoke highly of his experience.
“The food is excellent. The people are great,” Matt said.
Matt returned home, ready to rebuild his life with a renewed focus on his health. Committed to no smoking or drinking, he looked forward to enjoying one simple pleasure – a cold diet soda poured over ice made from his new icemaker.