Belief

A while ago, I wrote a post about a 75 year old woman who was hit by a truck, suffering overwhelming orthopedic, gynecologic, and urologic trauma. She went through abdominal compartment syndrome, several septic episodes, and pleural effusions. She had a grueling ICU course over several months and to be completely honest, I wasn't sure she would make it. At that age suffering that many insults, her prognosis is poor. We held many family discussions, but although they revised her code status, they wanted aggressive care.

Sometimes we eat our words. She was recently transferred from the acute care hospital to a rehabilitation facility. After months of battling injury after injury, she made it out of the ICU and began working with therapists on the floor (not even the step-down unit). At time of transfer, she could talk with her tracheostomy, expressing that she "wanted her food hot." Although she was not at her baseline mental status, I was floored. I thought this woman would not make it, and here she was, learning to get into and out of a chair. True, this is just the beginning of a long, tough road, but I was thoroughly impressed by the miracles of modern medicine. Her transfer summary had 29 diagnoses. She had at least 30 procedures in the operating room. And the eventual discharge plan anticipates that she will go home with family.