Rolesville

Member Since July 2008

My Story
My Journey to Better Health
Off to Curves I go with my cane and my O2. This past year has been the beginning of a new journey for me. On July 12, 2008 I joined Curves in Rolesville, NC. I am recovering from a long illness that began that began December 19, 2005. I had bilateral knee replacement surgery and developed pneumonia. The pneumonia progressed into ARDS and the strain on my heart caused a heart attack. My kidneys were also shutting down. I was put on a ventilator and life flighted to a hospital better equipped to treat my condition. Upon arrival at the hospital I was in the Cardiac Critical Care Unit but my lungs were shutting down and I was rushed to the Pulmonary Critical Care Unit and put into a drug " induced coma in order to be put on an oscillator ventilator which forces oxygen into your lungs at such strength it shakes your body. I was on this type of life support for six weeks which is unusual because it is usually used short term, less than a week, and the patients lungs respond or the patient dies. During this time my left lung collapsed and was repaired with a chest tube. After massive doses of prayers and steroids, I was weaned back to a conventional ventilator and eventually taken off the paralytics that induced my coma to face some difficult obstacles. Eventually a tracheotomy was performed and I was started on the trachea collar trials. I still could not move my body or speak due to the tracheotomy and I had a feeding tube inserted into my stomach. I was transferred to a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Hospital and eventually weaned completely from the ventilator. I developed a staph infection in my left leg and the artificial joint had to be removed. I also developed MRSA during this time. I was transferred to a skilled nursing facility and the physical therapy began. Six weeks later I was back at the hospital for a new artificial joint in my left leg and I went into congestive heart failure. I was well enough in a week to be transferred back to the nursing facility to endure more physical therapy. I went home on July 19, 2006 " seven months after my first surgery. I could not walk or handle my personal care but with the help of God, physical therapy, my children, grandchildren, people from my church, friends, and nursing assistants from home health care, I learned to walk and do my personal care. In November 2007 I developed an infection, not staph, in my left leg which required outpatient surgery but my leg healed very well. My first week at Curves I had to have help getting off and on the machines. I am the slowest one in the group. Slowly I have gained strength and staff members at Curves have helped me so much. They are very friendly and kind. With Gods help, as long as I can put one foot in front of the other I will be seen at Curves. Thank you and God bless all staff and members of Curves.
Marie Hines

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