Riley: Recovery One Day at a Time
Riley is an 81-year-old man who has dedicated 50 years
of his professional life to teaching. The past 32 of those years have been
spent in the communications department at a near by community college. His
girlfriend Nancy has also been a teacher for many years and they both enjoy and
appreciate the gift of education.
After having an echocardiogram in February, Riley was
found to have a cardiac ejection fraction of only 49 percent. Soon after the
test, he was admitted to a nearby short-term acute care hospital to undergo a
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG). Post-surgery, many complications ensued
including a gastrointestinal bleed that eventually needed a total abdominal
colectomy with ileoproctostomy. Kidney function decreased and hemodialysis was
begun. He became septic and encephaloptic. Riley’s lungs were extremely weak
after the surgeries and was put on a ventilator to help him breathe.
Many physician specialists, including a pulmonologist,
cardiologist, gastroenterologist and nephrologists were needed to attend to
Riley’s multi-organ complications. Together, this team of specialists
determined that Riley needed a long-term treatment plan with a coordinated and
specialized approach.
His physicians at the traditional hospital knew of
Kindred Hospital’s reputation for managing high acuity patients and trusted
their fully equipped ICU with cardiac monitoring and 24/7 respiratory therapy coverage.
They felt especially good about having in-house physician coverage day and night.
Riley was transferred to Kindred Hospital Dallas for continue care.
Riley’s road to recovery was slow but he made progress
daily. Kindred’s team of nurses closely monitored his cardiac status via
telemetry for quick intervention in case of any drug interactions or signs of
decline in status.
Within 16 days, he was weaned from the ventilator and
began eating small pureed meals. The sepsis cleared after two weeks of IV
antibiotic treatment and Riley became more alert and oriented each day.
Dialysis was discontinued once his kidneys became fully functional and his
gastro physician said his stomach bleed had resolved.
Having been in a hospital bed for an extended period
of time, Riley needed Kindred’s physical therapists, who worked daily and
diligently with him as he regained strength to transfer out of bed with
assistance.
Eventually he was able to ambulate with a rolling
walker for 250 feet with standby assist and discharged from Kindred six weeks
from his admit date.
The next special “date” that occurred was Riley and Nancy’s wedding four weeks
after he returned home.