Lora: A Journey of Recovery

Lora, 67, lived alone and was able to care for herself in spite of her severe emphysema. She had a caring, involved family who lived nearby and became concerned when she failed to show up for a family function. She was found unconscious and on the floor in her home and was brought to the emergency department of a short-term acute care hospital. Lora was in septic shock with a body temperature of 104 degrees. She was intubated, placed on a ventilator and sent to the ICU.

Her condition worsened, and she was found to have a pulmonary embolism, with pulmonary edema and necrotizing pancreatitis. Her delicate condition required intense monitoring, but her kidneys soon failed and she required hemodialysis. Her prognosis was very poor, and her family had to make the difficult decision of how aggressively they wanted to continue her care. They even considered hospice. They decided instead to send her to Kindred Hospital Delaware County for continued care.

Lora arrived at Kindred in mid-July on a ventilator, needing hemodialysis, tube feedings, IV antibiotics, and wound care for pressure ulcers on her back. She had also become very debilitated during her hospitalization and needed physical and speech therapy.

Ventilator weaning began right away, and three weeks later she was off the ventilator completely. After close monitoring, two weeks later her tracheotomy was removed. Her nephrologist was pleased with her kidney recovery. Lora’s last hemodialysis treatment was only 10 days after her admission to Kindred.

Physical and speech therapy began right away, although slowly because of her condition and history of fibromyalgia. Lora was determined and actively participated, even when she was too tired. She had progressed so well that she was evaluated by an acute rehabilitation facility one month later, but still needed too much assistance to tolerate the rigors of acute rehabilitation.

The case manager worked closely with Lora and her family to find the best place for her. Less than two months after she first became ill, she was headed to a nearby skilled nursing facility to continue her recovery.

She was eating solid food, and no longer needed tube feedings. What started as a poor prognosis ended with a very good outcome. As Lora and her family will tell anyone who’ll listen, they made a good choice when they gave her a second chance and chose Kindred.