COLORADO SPRINGS — In late April of 2020, Dana Ikener walked triumphantly down the halls of UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central soon after currently being hospitalized for a thirty day period with COVID-19. The hall was lined with medical professionals, nurses, medical center leaders and other personnel who all thunderously cheered her discharge.
Just about two many years later soon after that day, Dana walked that similar hallway and couldn’t aid but discover the variance in between then and now.
When I asked her what she remembered about that working day two a long time ago, Dana laughs: “It was a great deal unique. I really do not keep in mind a ton of faces (then) I just bear in mind there have been a ton of faces.”
In early 2020, in the early stage of the pandemic, Dana had been hospitalized for months with COVID-19, and invested practically fifty percent of that time on a ventilator. The specific send-off she gained from so a lot of of her caregivers has left a lasting perception.
Dana claims, “It was anything else that many people today had been even there to mail me on my way.”
Waiting around for Dana at the close of her wander down that hallway two years ago was her sister, who she hadn’t been ready to see in individual though hospitalized. When they embraced, the feelings spilled out, and when Dana was capable to talk, she instructed her sister, “I informed you I was walking out of here.”
Dana states looking back again, “I instructed them when I get prepared to go away I want to walk out. I walked in, I’m going for walks out. It was 1 of those matters I was determined to do. I just couldn’t wait around to get property. I hadn’t observed my family, my son, my daughter, my sisters, my church loved ones. I hadn’t viewed any one in 30 days. I was just completely ready to get house.”
Her wander by way of the halls of Memorial Clinic final month, in April of 2022, was to a reunion with quite a few of the individuals who cared for Dana, and experienced specified her that thunderous ship-off of applause two yrs ago.
Dana instructed the group collected to reunite with her, “I just desired to say thank you. It was frightening again then mainly because so numerous individuals had been dying. I just required to come back and say thank you. It was pretty humbling, and I just desired to occur back again and say thank you. I seriously respect it, and there is not a working day that goes by that I really don’t thank the Lord for them.”
Tamera Dunseth Rosenbaum, the main nursing officer for UCHealth Memorial, was a person of the numerous who came to greet Dana. “It’s patients like you that kept them (all our team) coming back again each day again then.”
The reunion was as significant for these wellbeing treatment heroes as it was for Dana.
Chelsea Ferguson, an RN with UCHealth, was there in the hallway at Memorial Hospital two many years back, applauding Dana’s discharge. At the time, she claimed, “Seeing her discharged nowadays was awesome. She was below for practically 30 days and hasn’t been equipped to see her family. When we saw her get to see her sister, that was so emotional and teary, every person seemed like they have been tearing up a very little bit.“
Two decades later, Chelsea says, “It’s so great to see the favourable results. There is so a lot in the news about folks that are acutely unwell and passing away, but it’s actually good to see another person surviving, flourishing and accomplishing properly two a long time right after getting discharged from the clinic.”
Dr. David Steinbruner is main professional medical officer for UCHealth Memorial, “This is why we do what we do. Persons go into medicine for this moment to be capable to greet anyone afterward, and she claims thank you, and we’re like ‘we thank you for giving us the honor to choose care of you.’ It feels us up, it fills our cup, it’s why we occur to do the job. That’s why we chose the profession that we do, and it’s a person of those matters that a second like this will allow for us to get through any challenging instances coming in the up coming weeks or months and we will try to remember moments like this and say ‘this is why we do what we do.’”
As unwell as Dana was additional than two yrs ago, she tells me there was by no means a time she did not know she would stroll out of UCHealth Memorial Central. So substantially has modified in the fight against the pandemic due to the fact then, and now that they are commonly offered, Dana’s a huge supporter of the COVID vaccines.
Dana says the variation between then and now when it comes to COVID is that, “It’s not as scary now but it is still some thing to stress about. There are nonetheless so many folks out there that are not vaccinated and and may possibly not fully grasp the truth that they could get actually unwell. They could carry COVID property to any person else who is aged or even the young individuals. I’m just 100% for vaccination I seriously do feel it aids even even though there are some people who have passed from underlying situations even just after they’re vaccinated. I believe the vaccine is much more useful than destructive and at any time they want me to get yet another booster, I will do that. I seriously get worried about a lot of these unnecessary fatalities from COVID since individuals will not get vaccinated.”
Now soon after this reunion, Dana has a different fond memory from what she phone calls the ideal – worst expertise of her existence, and a deeper bond with individuals who cared for her.
Dana states of the reunion, “It was pretty humbling, and I just preferred to occur again and say thank you to them. I definitely value it and there’s not a working day that goes by that I don’t thank the Lord for them.”
UCHealth is a very pleased sponsor of Your Balanced Household