Getting Paula’s Life Back
Niagara Health saved her life.
“I have diverticulitis,” Paula begins. “It’s a gastrointestinal disease that was managed very easily over the years. Whenever it would get bad, I would take antibiotics and my symptoms would clear up within a couple of days.”
During the summer of 2020, however, when the antibiotics were no longer working, Paula’s family doctor recommended she go to Niagara Health’s emergency department. More antibiotics and tests followed before it was determined that Paula would need a Hartmann’s procedure; a surgery where part of the colon is removed, requiring a colostomy bag.
Her admission to the hospital on September 25, 2020 is one of the last things Paula remembers. After that, she can only recall bizarre and vivid nightmares until, eventually, she remembers waking up in the Niagara Falls Intensive Care Unit (ICU) – two months later.
Paula would learn from her husband that her large intestine had burst during surgery and that she went into septic shock. “It is a difficult thing to come to terms with,” Paula explains. “I had to work with a psychologist to get over the grief that I felt for what I had lost, what I didn’t remember.”
“My husband Michael got the call around 2 am and was told that I was in recovery,” but things quickly changed. The doctors explained to him that Paula’s organs had started shutting down because of sepsis. When Michael saw Paula the next morning, he was in complete shock. Paula’s healthcare team recommended that he say his goodbyes. “She was on life support,” Michael remembers. “After those first few early days, she went into a comatose state. I was told that her condition was very serious.”
“The statistics around surviving septic shock are bleak, so they wanted him to be prepared for the worst,” explained Paula. And yet, one doctor on her healthcare team had a feeling that it wasn’t her time, yet – her surgeon, Dr. Faisal Hamour. “He kept telling Michael that I wasn’t going to die,” Paula says. “He believed in me.” The ICU team fought for Paula’s life and 65 days later, Dr. Hamour would be proven right. “On December 8, 2020, I got to go home – not to a rehabilitation facility, but home. Being home for Christmas was my biggest wish and everyone called it a Christmas miracle that my wish came true.”
Recovery wasn’t an easy road for Paula. “It was a long process because I was on a ventilator for two months. I couldn’t speak. I initially couldn’t hear because I had air bubbles in my ears. I was so weak that I couldn’t even hold a pen. I was experiencing ICU psychosis, so I had a lot of hallucinations. I weighed 95 pounds. It was a very difficult time,” she says, before adding, “but I survived.”
A big milestone in Paula’s recovery was a second surgery in April, 2021, where the Hartmann’s procedure was reversed, which meant that Paula no longer needed the colostomy bag. While the surgery initially set her back in her recovery, it was a big step in the right direction. “The stoma had been an ongoing concern, so it was amazing not having to worry about that anymore. And once that was gone, by the summer of 2021, I was just starting to feel like myself again.”
Grateful for the care that Paula received and the support her husband Michael was given throughout those terrifying days and weeks, the couple knew early on that they wanted to show their appreciation in any way possible. “We wanted to donate to the ICU as a statement that we were grateful for getting my life back. We made a contribution in 2020 and have continued giving ever since. The staff members were amazing. I can’t say enough about the Niagara Falls ICU staff. They are a group of truly dedicated professionals who care. That’s why we continue to donate and help wherever we can.”
Towards the end of her time in the ICU, Paula remembers a day when the physio team had her ready to stand up with a walker. “They walked me around the ICU, and all of the staff came out from whatever they were doing, and they just stood there applauding,” she says with a laugh. “That was really special – for me, but I think it was for them, too.” Every year, Paula and Michael send a card to Dr. Hamour for the anniversary of her surgery. “We want him to realize how important he is in our lives and that we’ll never forget his skill, dedication and his belief in me.”
When Paula thinks of the days in the ICU that she does remember, it is often the seemingly small acts of kindness that stand out to her. The nurse whose gentle touch helped Paula find moments of peace when she felt scared and anxious, the caretaker’s smile, the respirologist’s patience. “Those are the things I recall that are so important to me, and mean the world to me.”
“I hope by sharing my story, I can show the ICU staff how what they did still resonates with me more than four years later. When you go through something like this, it’s just there,” Paula explains. “I don’t have to think about it. I just feel it – their presence with me.”
Getting Paula’s Life Back
Niagara Health saved her life.
“I have diverticulitis,” Paula begins. “It’s a gastrointestinal disease that was managed very easily over the years. Whenever it would get bad, I would take antibiotics and my symptoms would clear up within a couple of days.”
During the summer of 2020, however, when the antibiotics were no longer working, Paula’s family doctor recommended she go to Niagara Health’s emergency department. More antibiotics and tests followed before it was determined that Paula would need a Hartmann’s procedure; a surgery where part of the colon is removed, requiring a colostomy bag.
Her admission to the hospital on September 25, 2020 is one of the last things Paula remembers. After that, she can only recall bizarre and vivid nightmares until, eventually, she remembers waking up in the Niagara Falls Intensive Care Unit (ICU) – two months later.
Paula would learn from her husband that her large intestine had burst during surgery and that she went into septic shock. “It is a difficult thing to come to terms with,” Paula explains. “I had to work with a psychologist to get over the grief that I felt for what I had lost, what I didn’t remember.”
“My husband Michael got the call around 2 am and was told that I was in recovery,” but things quickly changed. The doctors explained to him that Paula’s organs had started shutting down because of sepsis. When Michael saw Paula the next morning, he was in complete shock. Paula’s healthcare team recommended that he say his goodbyes. “She was on life support,” Michael remembers. “After those first few early days, she went into a comatose state. I was told that her condition was very serious.”
“The statistics around surviving septic shock are bleak, so they wanted him to be prepared for the worst,” explained Paula. And yet, one doctor on her healthcare team had a feeling that it wasn’t her time, yet – her surgeon, Dr. Faisal Hamour. “He kept telling Michael that I wasn’t going to die,” Paula says. “He believed in me.” The ICU team fought for Paula’s life and 65 days later, Dr. Hamour would be proven right. “On December 8, 2020, I got to go home – not to a rehabilitation facility, but home. Being home for Christmas was my biggest wish and everyone called it a Christmas miracle that my wish came true.”
Recovery wasn’t an easy road for Paula. “It was a long process because I was on a ventilator for two months. I couldn’t speak. I initially couldn’t hear because I had air bubbles in my ears. I was so weak that I couldn’t even hold a pen. I was experiencing ICU psychosis, so I had a lot of hallucinations. I weighed 95 pounds. It was a very difficult time,” she says, before adding, “but I survived.”
A big milestone in Paula’s recovery was a second surgery in April, 2021, where the Hartmann’s procedure was reversed, which meant that Paula no longer needed the colostomy bag. While the surgery initially set her back in her recovery, it was a big step in the right direction. “The stoma had been an ongoing concern, so it was amazing not having to worry about that anymore. And once that was gone, by the summer of 2021, I was just starting to feel like myself again.”
Grateful for the care that Paula received and the support her husband Michael was given throughout those terrifying days and weeks, the couple knew early on that they wanted to show their appreciation in any way possible. “We wanted to donate to the ICU as a statement that we were grateful for getting my life back. We made a contribution in 2020 and have continued giving ever since. The staff members were amazing. I can’t say enough about the Niagara Falls ICU staff. They are a group of truly dedicated professionals who care. That’s why we continue to donate and help wherever we can.”
Towards the end of her time in the ICU, Paula remembers a day when the physio team had her ready to stand up with a walker. “They walked me around the ICU, and all of the staff came out from whatever they were doing, and they just stood there applauding,” she says with a laugh. “That was really special – for me, but I think it was for them, too.” Every year, Paula and Michael send a card to Dr. Hamour for the anniversary of her surgery. “We want him to realize how important he is in our lives and that we’ll never forget his skill, dedication and his belief in me.”
When Paula thinks of the days in the ICU that she does remember, it is often the seemingly small acts of kindness that stand out to her. The nurse whose gentle touch helped Paula find moments of peace when she felt scared and anxious, the caretaker’s smile, the respirologist’s patience. “Those are the things I recall that are so important to me, and mean the world to me.”
“I hope by sharing my story, I can show the ICU staff how what they did still resonates with me more than four years later. When you go through something like this, it’s just there,” Paula explains. “I don’t have to think about it. I just feel it – their presence with me.”
