Julie E's Success Story
"I can be as good as I want to be, I just have to want it.”
- Julie
After falling and striking her head on a table, Julie went to the ER. While there, Julie experienced a change in her mental status and suffered a stroke. She was later intubated and had a trach placed.
Julie arrived at Kindred Northland Hospital in mid-December, still on the vent, with the tach and peg tube. She was also experiencing issues with secretion.
Julie began her vent weaning trials right away and was weaned off her vent on January 8th. She would wear her Passy Muir Speaking Valve (PMV) to communicate with staff and family and was able to be capped on January 12 and decannulated on January 22nd. Julie continues to do well on her breathing and said, “I am so glad to have that tube out of my throat.”
While recovering and weaning from the vent, Julie continued to work with our physical, occupational and speech therapy teams. She was very weak and had lost a lot of strength in her upper and lower body and had days she refused to do her therapy. But through the persistence and encouragement of our staff, she began to improve, and can now sit in her recliner, can eat meals, and loves to have visits. She can also stand and pivot to and from the bed to her chair.
Julie will head to a rehab facility to continue her therapy and shares she is ready to go home and be with her children.
Care for Complex Conditions
Patients come to our hospitals with serious conditions such as respiratory failure, complex wounds, sepsis, stroke, congestive heart failure, or even a combination of these. Their diagnoses are often complicated by existing health problems like diabetes or COPD. Many of our patients require treatments such as mechanical ventilators, dialysis, or IV therapy.