Kaycee's Story
Kaycee Maier, a 33-year-old mom and bartender from Anderson, Ohio, never expected her life to take the turn that it did.
"It happened suddenly," Kaycee said. "I was with my family, feeling unwell. Next thing I know, I'm on a stretcher, heading to the hospital."
Out of the blue that day, Kaycee felt “weird” and threw up. She couldn’t use her left arm or left leg. When she called her mom, Kaycee’s speech was slurred. Kaycee feared she was having a stroke – and she was right.
Kaycee was first admitted to Mercy Anderson Hospital, where she spent 15 days being stabilized. Her condition was critical: she required a ventilator for breathing, couldn’t talk and was unable to move on her own, not even to roll over in bed.
Select Specialty Hospital – Cincinnati, a critical illness recovery hospital, is located within Mercy Hospital so when it was time to move out of the intensive care unit, Kaycee transferred to Select Specialty Hospital.
Upon admission, Kaycee's goals were to gain strength, come off the ventilator and speak again.
A physician-led, interdisciplinary team collaborated on a plan to help her do that, and a steady stream of Kaycee’s family and friends were by her side daily to encourage her.
Kaycee had a tracheostomy, which is a surgically-made slit in the windpipe with a tube that connected to her ventilator. To get her breathing on her own again, Kaycee participated in exercises where a respiratory therapist lowered her ventilator settings or temporarily removed her from the machine and monitored how well her lungs could perform. The exercises build lung strength and stamina.
At the same time, a speech-language pathologist used an expiratory muscle strength training (EMST) device to strengthen the muscles needed to swallow and cough. Both would be necessary for Kaycee to starting eating again. Kaycee blew into the device and had to generate enough pressure to open a valve.
Kaycee’s physical therapy started with her – and with assistance – sitting up in bed and progressing to balancing herself on the edge of the bed. Therapists moved her arms and legs in stretching, strengthening and range-of-motion exercises.
She recalled one of the most challenging moments was trying to stand again.
Kaycee made steady progress. One month later, she no longer needed the ventilator.
“Getting off the ventilator and having it removed from my room” was a big moment, Kaycee recalled, noting that it meant she could now breathe independently again.
Other big moments were when she could eat and talk again.
Five weeks after admission, Kaycee was strong enough to transfer to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital to continue her recovery. She could move in her bed, stand with assistance and transfer to a wheelchair to travel the hospital halls.
“It was good to know that all of my hard work paid off,” she said.
She looks forward to getting home to her daughter, Charlotte, and her dog, Queen.
"It happened suddenly," Kaycee said. "I was with my family, feeling unwell. Next thing I know, I'm on a stretcher, heading to the hospital."
Out of the blue that day, Kaycee felt “weird” and threw up. She couldn’t use her left arm or left leg. When she called her mom, Kaycee’s speech was slurred. Kaycee feared she was having a stroke – and she was right.
Kaycee was first admitted to Mercy Anderson Hospital, where she spent 15 days being stabilized. Her condition was critical: she required a ventilator for breathing, couldn’t talk and was unable to move on her own, not even to roll over in bed.
Select Specialty Hospital – Cincinnati, a critical illness recovery hospital, is located within Mercy Hospital so when it was time to move out of the intensive care unit, Kaycee transferred to Select Specialty Hospital.
Upon admission, Kaycee's goals were to gain strength, come off the ventilator and speak again.
A physician-led, interdisciplinary team collaborated on a plan to help her do that, and a steady stream of Kaycee’s family and friends were by her side daily to encourage her.
Kaycee had a tracheostomy, which is a surgically-made slit in the windpipe with a tube that connected to her ventilator. To get her breathing on her own again, Kaycee participated in exercises where a respiratory therapist lowered her ventilator settings or temporarily removed her from the machine and monitored how well her lungs could perform. The exercises build lung strength and stamina.
At the same time, a speech-language pathologist used an expiratory muscle strength training (EMST) device to strengthen the muscles needed to swallow and cough. Both would be necessary for Kaycee to starting eating again. Kaycee blew into the device and had to generate enough pressure to open a valve.
Kaycee’s physical therapy started with her – and with assistance – sitting up in bed and progressing to balancing herself on the edge of the bed. Therapists moved her arms and legs in stretching, strengthening and range-of-motion exercises.
She recalled one of the most challenging moments was trying to stand again.
Kaycee made steady progress. One month later, she no longer needed the ventilator.
“Getting off the ventilator and having it removed from my room” was a big moment, Kaycee recalled, noting that it meant she could now breathe independently again.
Other big moments were when she could eat and talk again.
Five weeks after admission, Kaycee was strong enough to transfer to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital to continue her recovery. She could move in her bed, stand with assistance and transfer to a wheelchair to travel the hospital halls.
“It was good to know that all of my hard work paid off,” she said.
She looks forward to getting home to her daughter, Charlotte, and her dog, Queen.