LONG BEACH, California (Reuters) – As a veteran ICU nurse whose mission is to care for the most critically ill patients at her hospital in Long Beach, California, Merlin Pambuan was well aware of the deadly havoc that COVID-19 can wreak on human body.
Last spring, in a tragic change of role, Pambuan became one of those patients admitted to the intensive care unit of St. John’s Medical Center. Mary, her workplace for the past 40 years, where she became unconscious due to sedation that induced paralysis and was placed on a ventilator to breathe. A feed tube was later added.
He was on the verge of death on several occasions, his doctors later revealed. His condition was so serious at one point that options at the end of life were discussed with his family.
When she woke up and could breathe on her own again, she was too weak to hold on. But he struggled and struggled for weeks of painful therapy to regain strength and mobility, celebrating his 66th birthday in St. John’s acute rehabilitation room. Mary in late October.
On Monday, Pambuan surpassed the odds of his eight-month ordeal as he walked out the front door of the hospital, receiving applause, applause and cheers from colleagues lining the lobby to rejoice at his discharge.
“This is my second life,” Pambuan said moments earlier, as she prepared to leave her hospital room, accompanied by her husband, Daniel, 63, and her daughter, Shantell, 33. years, aspiring social worker who spent months in her mother’s bed as her patient’s advocate and personal cheerleader.
The spectacle of Pambuan walking slowly but safely through the hospital lobby – he had insisted on leaving without the help of a wheelchair or a walker, even though he was still connected with extra oxygen – marked a transformative victory for the tiny but tough nurse in the ICU.
“WHAT WE LIVE FOR”
The influx of affection he received from his colleagues (including many of the doctors, fellow nurses, and therapists who participated in his care) also reflected a rare moment of community triumph for hospital staff tired of pandemic.
“That’s why we live … to see our patients come home alive and in good condition,” said Dr. Maged Tanios, a lung care specialist and critic in St. Louis. Mary. He said Pambuan’s recovery was especially rewarding as he is part of the hospital’s extended “family”.
Tanios said he was unaware that other Santa Maria medical professionals were admitted to the ICU by COVID. However, studies show that close and frequent contact of coronavirus patients by front-line health workers poses a higher risk of contracting the disease, hence the decision to give them the highest priority in vaccination.
Ironically, Pambuan’s discharge coincided with the recent deployment of COVID-19 vaccines for medical workers, as well as a growing increase in coronavirus infections that have overflowed hospitals and ICUs in particular throughout California. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)
Pambuan said he does not remember the four months he spent stuck to a breathing machine (from early May to early September), but he remembers the first waking up from deep sedation without being able to move his limbs.
Encouraged by the nursing staff and her daughter Pambuan, she said she was determined to regain her mobility and her life.
“I said,‘ No, I’m going to fight this CVPID, ’” he recounted. “I start moving my hand (and) a physiotherapist who comes in and says,‘ Oh, you move your hands ’and I said,‘ Oh, I’m going to fight, I’m going to fight. I try to move my toes. I’m going to fight it. “
Pambuan spent the last months of his hospital stay in physical and respiratory rehabilitation and will continue to recover from home, making peace, he said, with a change of pace.
“It’s going to be very difficult for me,” he said. “But I have to accept, I’ll be on oxygen for a while and slow down a bit.”
When or if he will return to work in the ICU remains an open question, he said.
Meanwhile, Pambuan said she feels indebted to her co-workers for her “truly professional” attention, thankful for the support of loved ones and recently convinced of the power of optimism.
His message to others in his skin: “Do not lose hope. Just fight. Fight, because look at me, you know. I’m going home and I’m going for a walk. “
Steve Gorman reports in Long Beach, California; Edited by Lisa Shumaker