LONG BEACH, Calif. (Reuters) – As a seasoned ICU nurse whose job is to care for the most critically ill patients at her hospital in Long Beach, California, Merlin Pambuan was well aware of the deadly devastation COVID-19 can inflict on human body.
Last spring, in a tragic role reversal, Pambuan became one of those patients – admitted to the intensive care unit of St. Mary Medical Center, her workplace for the past 40 years, where she passed out from paralysis-inducing sedation and on a fan for breathing. A feeding tube was added later.
She came close to death on several occasions, her doctors later revealed. At one point, her condition was so dire that end-of-life options were discussed with her family.
By the time she woke up and could breathe on her own again, she was too weak to stand. But she fought back and struggled through weeks of painful therapy to regain her strength and mobility, celebrating her 66th birthday in St. Mary’s acute rehabilitation unit in late October.
On Monday, Pambuan defeated the odds of her eight-month ordeal by walking out the front door of the hospital, eliciting cheers, applause and cheerfulness from colleagues in the lobby to rejoice at her dismissal.
“This is my second life,” Pambuan said a little earlier, as she prepared to leave her hospital room, accompanied by her husband, Daniel, 63, and their daughter, Shantell, 33, an aspiring social worker who spent months at the bedside. from her mother. as her patient attorney and personal cheerleader.
The spectacle of Pambuan striding slowly but confidently through the hospital lobby – she had insisted on making her departure without the help of a wheelchair or walker, although still connected to supplemental oxygen – was a transformative victory for the small but tough IC nurse.
‘WHAT WE LIVE FOR’
The outpouring of affection she received from colleagues – including many of the doctors, fellow nurses and therapists who participated in her care – also reflected a rare moment of communal triumph for the pandemically weary hospital staff.
“This is what we live for … to see our patients go home alive and in good condition,” said Dr. Maged Tanios, a lung and intensive care specialist in St. Mary. He said Pambuan’s recovery has been particularly rewarding, as she is part of the hospital’s extended ‘family’.
Tanios said he was unaware that other St. Mary medical personnel were admitted to the ICU for COVID. However, studies show that the frequent, close contact of primary care health workers with coronavirus patients carries a higher risk of contracting the disease, hence the decision to give them the highest priority in immunization.
Pambuan’s resignation ironically coincided with the recent introduction of COVID-19 vaccines to medical workers, as well as a crushing increase in coronavirus infections that has overwhelmed hospitals and particularly ICUs across California. (Image: tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)
Pambuan said she can’t remember the four months she spent on a respirator – from early May to early September – but remembers waking up for the first time from deep sedation and unable to move her limbs.
Encouraged by the nursing staff and her daughter Pambuan, she said she was determined to regain her mobility and life.
“I said, ‘No, I’m going to fight this COVID,’ ” she said. “I start moving my hand (and) a physiotherapist comes and says, ‘Oh, you move your hands,’ and I said, ‘Oh, I’m going to fight, I’m going to fight. I try to wiggle my toes. I’m going to fight it. ”
Pambuan spent the final months of her hospital stay in physical and respiratory rehabilitation and will continue to recover at home while making peace, she said, with a change in pace.
“It will be very difficult for me,” she said. “But I have to accept that I’ll be on oxygen for a while and slow down a little bit.”
When and if she will return to work in the ICU remains an open question, she said.
In the meantime, Pambuan said she feels grateful to her colleagues for their “truly professional” care, grateful for the support of loved ones, and only recently convinced of the power of optimism.
Her message to others in her shoes – “Don’t lose hope. Just fight. Fight because look at me you know. I go home and I walk. “
Reporting by Steve Gorman in Long Beach, California; Editing by Lisa Shumaker