Wendy's Story
Raised in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, Wendy Yocum never strayed far from her hometown. After graduating from high school, she began her career as a mail clerk at the nearby Navy Depot, where she dedicated 36 years of service. In retirement, Wendy enjoyed peaceful days with her husband, Paul, filled with reading, writing stories, drawing and listening to music.
Several years after retiring, Wendy’s health began to decline. She developed difficulty walking due to spinal stenosis, a condition where the spinal canal becomes narrowed and puts pressure on the nerves. Wendy also experienced incontinence, which required the use of a foley catheter.
During a routine appointment to have the catheter changed, Wendy’s urologist noticed her heart rate was elevated, her blood pressure had dropped and her oxygen level was dangerously low. This prompted an urgent trip to the emergency department at Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center.
Wendy was admitted and treated for a urinary tract infection before transferring to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital. When she developed low blood pressure and her kidney function worsened, she was readmitted to Penn State Health Holy Spirit. Doctors diagnosed Wendy with pneumonia and respiratory failure, and placed her on a ventilator to assist with her labored breathing and dialysis to help her kidneys. After several days of treatment, Wendy’s care team recommended she transition to Select Specialty Hospital – Camp Hill, a critical illness recovery hospital known for their expertise with medically complex patients.
Shortly after arrival, Wendy suffered repeated cardiac arrests requiring multiple resuscitations. “My heart stopped a bunch of times, and by the grace of God and those electric shocks, I was brought back to life,” said Wendy, who returned to Penn State Health Holy Spirit a third time to stabilized in the intensive care unit. “Once my heart was okay, I went back to Select to recover.”
Nine days after Wendy’s ordeal began, a physician-led multidisciplinary team at Select Specialty Hospital developed a personalized treatment plan to treat her infections, help liberate her from the ventilator, remove her tracheostomy and rebuild her strength so she could complete her inpatient rehabilitation and return home.
Under the guidance of a pulmonologist, the respiratory therapy team conducted daily spontaneous breathing trials, gradually increasing Wendy’s time off the ventilator to strengthen her lungs. Each day, her breathing improved.
After a couple days, Wendy’s speech-language pathologist fitted her tracheostomy with a Passy-Muir speaking valve allowing her to speak. Being able to talk again gave Wendy renewed hope and allowed her to communicate with Paul for the first time in two weeks.
“I called Paul, and we spoke for 30 minutes,” Wendy said, recalling how he shared his concerns about her cognition following everything she’d been through. With her newfound voice, she was able to reassure him. “Once we got to talking, he knew I would be able to get home.”
Wendy’s speech-language pathologist also guided her through exercises to strengthen throat muscles so she could eat safely again. Two weeks following, a special study confirmed Wendy could safely swallow. With the guidance of a nutritionist, Wendy started eating food that was easy to chew, carefully balanced for her blood sugar and limited in salt and certain minerals to protect her kidneys. To ensure she received enough nutrition, she also continued nightly tube feedings.
After 17 days, Wendy was liberated from the ventilator. As she grew stronger and her endurance improved, her tracheostomy opening was covered for increasing longer periods to ensure her breathing was stable. After a couple weeks of successful capping trials, Wendy’s tracheostomy was removed.
“I wouldn’t be able to breathe on my own without my respiratory therapists,” she said. “They did a great job helping me get to where I am.”
Meantime, Wendy’s physical and occupational therapy teams helped her rebuild strength, range of motion and balance. Her physical therapy sessions focused on moving safely in bed, improving sitting balance, strengthening her legs and building endurance to prepare her for inpatient rehabilitation.
“They really helped me gain back some of the strength that I had lost,” Wendy said. “I ultimately want to get back to how I was before, able to walk at least a few steps.”
Wendy’s work with occupational therapy on core strengthening and upper body exercises translated to independence with self-care tasks, such as grooming and dressing.
After 41 days at Select Specialty Hospital, Wendy had made remarkable progress. She was breathing on her own, eating, talking and building strength to return to walking. She was ready to transfer to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital to continue her recovery progress before returning home. Reflecting on her journey, Wendy said she knew her story could have turned out very differently.
“Everyone was so helpful,” she said. “They took great care of me. They got my heart beating again, so I had another chance to live. Without them saving me, I wouldn’t be here telling my story.”
Wendy also credited her husband’s support and the prayers of her family and friends for lifting her spirits throughout her recovery.
“My husband is so valuable. He came every day,” Wendy said. “I also had all sorts of friends and churches praying for my healing. I look forward to getting stronger and going home.”