Tamara's Story
Tamara Fischer, 59, was a few steps from her bedroom when she began struggling to breathe. She called her daughter for help and emergency services personnel were on site in minutes. Rushed to South County Hospital, the medical team was afraid she had an empyema, a collection of pus around the lungs, and transferred her to St. Luke's Hospital for more advanced care.
The former kitchen and bath designer was in septic shock, a condition caused by organ damage or infection that leads to low blood pressure. Her body was also getting less oxygen that it needed and fluid was building up around her lungs. She was intubated, placed on a ventilator and underwent a CT scan.
Doctors monitored her oxygen levels and managed her blood pressure and infection with medication until Tamara was deemed medically stable. Unable to talk, eat, breathe or walk on her own, Tamara needed specialized care to continue healing. For that, her daughter chose Select Specialty Hospital – Town and Country.
At Select Specialty Hospital, an interdisciplinary team of expert nurses, therapists and other clinical staff developed a treatment plan that would help Tamara regain her independence.
Working with a pulmonologist and respiratory therapist, Tamara began breathing protocols that strengthened her lungs. This involved deep breathing and coughing exercises combined with increasingly longer spans of time without machine support until Tamara was breathing independently with supplemental oxygen. Finally being free of the ventilator was a major milestone for her recovery, according to Tamara.
Tamara also worked with her physical and occupational therapy teams to strengthen the rest of her body. Her therapists got her out of bed and sitting up in a chair twice a day along with stretching and exercises at the edge of the bed to strengthen her core and build endurance and balance. They also worked on practicing self-care activities, such as bathing and getting dressed.
These sessions required energy from nutrition and Tamara had arrived at Select Specialty Hospital unable to eat solid foods due to being ventilated. She worked closely with a speech-language pathologist to regain her ability to swallow. Mouth and tongue exercises were followed by a swallow study and then increasingly thicker foods with different textures until Tamara was once again eating regular diet.
Now stronger, and with the support of her daughter who was there every day, Tamara began standing with assistance. Then, after two months in bed, Tamara finally took her first steps.
After four weeks with the team at Select Specialty Hospital – Town and County, Tamara was able to breathe on her own with supplemental oxygen, eat a regular diet and was progressing toward independent mobility. As she prepared to discharge home, Tamara was looking forward to once again being herself.
Tamara expressed satisfaction with her time spent at Select Specialty Hospital, saying that everyone took good care of her. For those facing a similar situation, Tamara said that they need to trust the process to get better.