Ironically I didn’t sign up for care at UC Davis Health, but ensured that my husband and children did. I was a patient at another health system, and was fine with that as I loved my primary care doctor. I always said I wasn’t worried about not having UC Davis Health for my care because I could advocate for myself. Well, that all changed when I became extremely sick in January 2018. After a visit to the ER and a diagnosis of the flu, I was sent home. Less than 24 hours later, I was back in the ER and quickly down spiraled into pneumonia, pulmonary edema and sepsis, leaving me hospitalized. The next seven days were a blur.
My husband called my coworkers and insisted they come visit me at the hospital. When they arrived and saw the condition I was in, they advocated for me to be transferred to UC Davis Health. Deep down I knew that if I had stayed at my other health system I would not have made it. Coming to UC Davis Health saved my life.
Once I was transferred to our health system, I was intubated and put in a medically induced coma. I was brought specifically to the CTICU because the doctors thought that I would need Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS). The care during my hospital stay was phenomenal. My husband and I were looked after by friends and coworkers, managers, and hospital administration; so many members of the hospital had a vested interest in my recovery.
The nurses cared for me like I was family, taking extra time to make me feel cared for and safe. After I came out of my coma I had horrible delusions and hallucinations, but it was the nurses at my side that kept me centered and sane.
My family and I are forever indebted to them for the care they provided. It was the compassion, the smiles, and the human dignity that they offered me when I was at my most vulnerable. I am touched and so fortunate to be part of an organization that would look after one of its own in such a way.
I know it is because of their phenomenal, top-notch level of care that I am alive today.