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 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 was rendered
unconscious by paralysis-inducing sedation and placed on a
ventilator to breathe. A feeding tube was later added.
She came close to death on several occasions, her doctors later
revealed. So dire was her condition at one point that end-of-life
options were discussed with her family.
By the time she awoke 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 ward in late
October.
On Monday Pambuan beat the odds of her eight-month ordeal by walking
out the front door of the hospital, drawing cheers, applause and
exhilaration from colleagues lining the lobby to rejoice in her
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 their daughter, Shantell, 33, an aspiring social
worker who spent months at her mother's bedside as her patient
advocate and personal cheerleader.
The spectacle of Pambuan striding slowly but confidently through the
hospital lobby - she had insisted on making her exit without
assistance of a wheelchair or walker, although was still connected
to supplementary oxygen - marked a transformative victory for the
diminutive but tough ICU nurse.
'WHAT WE LIVE FOR'
The outpouring of affection she received from colleagues - including
many of the physicians, fellow nurses and therapists who took part
in her care - also reflected a rare moment of communal triumph for
the pandemic-weary hospital staff.
"This is what we live for ... seeing our patients going home alive
and in good condition," said Dr. Maged Tanios, a pulmonary and
critical care specialist at St. Mary. He said Pambuan's recovery was
especially rewarding since she is part of the hospital's extended
"family."
Tanios said he was not aware of other St. Mary medical staff being
admitted to the ICU for COVID. However, studies show frontline
healthcare workers' frequent, close contact with coronavirus
patients puts them at higher risk of contracting the disease, hence
the decision to give them top priority in getting immunized.
[to top of second column] |
 Pambuan's discharge,
ironically, coincided with the recent rollout of
COVID-19 vaccines to medical workers, as well as
a crushing surge in coronavirus infections that
have overwhelmed hospitals, and ICUs in
particular, across California. (Graphic:
https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)
Pambuan said she has no recollection of the four
months she spent hooked to a breathing machine -
from early May to early September - but recalls
first waking up from deep sedation unable to
move her extremities. With
encouragement from nursing staff and her daughter Pambuan said she
grew determined to regain her mobility and her life.
"I said, 'No, I'm going to fight this COVID,'" she recounted. "I
start moving my hand (and) a physical therapist come and say, 'Oh,
you're moving your hands,' and I said, 'Oh, I'm going to fight, I'm
going to fight. I'm trying to wiggle my toes. I'm going to fight
it.'"
Pambuan spent the last few months of her hospital stay undergoing
physical and respiratory rehabilitation and will continue
recuperation from home, while making peace, she said, with a change
in pace.
"It's going to be very difficult for me," she said. "But I have to
accept it, that I'm going to be on oxygen for a while and slow down
a little bit."
When or if she will return to work in the ICU remains an open
question, she said.
In the meantime, Pambuan said she feels indebted to her co-workers
for their "really professional" care, grateful for the support of
loved ones and newly 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'm going home and I'm
walking."
(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Long Beach, California; Editing by
Lisa Shumaker)
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