Patient Story: Malena: A Full Recovery

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Malena, 24, is a college student pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering who enjoys the simple things in life - cooking, playing with pets, going to church and school, and visiting Disneyland with her family.

Everything changed for Malena on November 26, 2008. After her family noticed she was exhibiting confusion and an altered mental state, they took her to a local hospital. Once there, her level of consciousness continued to deteriorate, and she began having seizures. She was admitted to the ICU, and spent five weeks being diagnosed and treated for an atypical form of encephalitis - a serious brain infection.

By the time she was transferred to Kindred Hospital Santa Ana on January 3, 2009, her kidneys had shut down and she required hemodialysis to filter toxins from her blood. She was on a ventilator, but still experiencing labored breathing. Due to her inability to swallow, she could no longer eat, and needed a nasogastric tube to provide her with nutrition.

She continued to have seizures, and was suffering from a very serious case of pneumonia. There was significant neurologic impairment, including confusion, lack of comprehension, and anxiety so severe she required intravenous medications. She could neither talk nor move, and was totally dependent upon others for care, mobility, and non-verbal communication. When she arrived at Kindred, her goals were simple: to be able to eat, talk and walk.

Our team of respiratory therapists immediately began to work on the weaning process, allowing Malena to begin to resume breathing on her own. This process can be long and difficult, but they continued to persevere, and by the time she left us, Malena was no longer dependent on the ventilator.

Our speech-language pathologist tackled the problems involving swallow and speech. Malena was actively participating in the process, and by discharge, she was feeding herself and taking liquid supplements with meals to restore her strength and energy level.

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Tags

• Encephalitis
• Pneumonia

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