One family member going to hospital is stressful enough; imagine two in two days. That is what happened to a Nanaimo family in August 2016. A day after Kevin Grieder’s mother had a heart attack, he too found himself at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH).
One morning, Kevin had difficulty breathing so went to see his family doctor. As the day progressed, he still did not feel better so went to Emergency at NRGH. After being seen and treated, he left but his breathing continued to get worse. He returned to Emergency and collapsed while in the waiting room.
Kevin woke up a few days later in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) hooked up to a ventilator and with a tube down his throat. The reason? He suffered a pulmonary embolism because of a blood clot in his leg that had traveled into his lungs. He was put into an induced coma to give his body a chance to recover and repair itself. While in the ICU, Kevin received constant, close monitoring from the team of specialized medical staff. After being treated and stabilized in the ICU, Kevin was transferred to a ward where heart and lung specialists could closely monitor him for approximately 5 days. He then spent his last few days on a general ward to gain more strength in preparation for his return home.
While in care, he noted he was able to observe the activity around the nursing station. “In addition to patient care, it was eye-opening to see to see all the paper work and other activities nurses have to do,” said Kevin. “Before staying in the hospital, I didn’t realize just how busy they are during their shifts.”
Kevin shared that from the time he arrived at NRGH to the day he was discharged, he received excellent care from all the hospital staff and singled out the ICU team in particular.
“I was so grateful for the care I received that I went back to thank the ICU team as soon as I could,” said Kevin. “I also decided to make a donation to the Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation as a further way to recognize how well they looked after me in the ICU while I was so sick.”
Both Kevin, who was able to return to work at Country Grocer in Chase River, and his mother are doing well and are grateful for the level of care they received by the skilled and committed hospital staff. So much so that Kevin has become a regular, annual donor and was delighted to learn his recent donation would be put towards the new ICU at NRGH.
Read about our campaign to build the new ICU here.
