Gary: Slow and Steady Recovery

Gary is a research scientist who has worked for the same biotech company since coming to California in 1992 from Arkansas. He is married with three sons and a daughter and enjoys traveling across the country to see his daughter play soccer for her college team.

On May 15, Gary was driving on the freeway and developed chest pain. He pulled over and called 911. The paramedics arrived and found Gary unconscious with no pulse. They immediately took him to the nearest emergency room at a short-term acute care hospital. Gary was diagnosed with anoxic encephalopathy and an acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack, which necessitated an urgent cardiac catheterization. Prior to the heart catheterization Gary was intubated and placed on a ventilator. During the cardiac catheterization the doctors were able to open an occluded coronary artery.

Doctors at the short-term acute care were able to stabilize Gary’s condition, but he required extended recovery time. On June 6, Gary was transferred to Kindred Hospital Los Angeles for evaluation of weaning status and rehabilitation. He was admitted on a ventilator, unresponsive, bed bound and being fed by a feeding tube.

Kindred’s interdisciplinary team evaluated Gary and outlined a treatment plan tailored to his medical needs. Over the course of two months, Gary improved slowly and experienced several complications in his course of treatment. Eventually respiratory therapists weaned him off the ventilation and his tracheostomy was downsized to allow for speaking and eating. Gary also worked daily with the rehabilitation department to strengthen his upper and lower body extremities through physical and occupational therapy.

On August 8, Gary was transferred to an acute rehabilitation facility for further care. He had progressed from total bed rest to sitting up in a chair for prolonged periods of time, talking and eating.