Vital for Nationally Ranked Lung Care, Close to Home.
”It’s pretty incredible. I shouldn’t be here. But I am.”
Meet Lynn
Over the holidays, Lynn's son, who is a nurse, came home to find his mom not feeling well. After checking her pulse and oxygen levels, and discovering they were dangerously low, he took her immediately to the Summa Health System – Akron Campus emergency department.
There Lynn was diagnosed with COVID-19 and double pneumonia, and admitted to the Summa Health intensive care unit. Under the care of Dr. Brian Bauman and the pulmonary team, Lynn was on a ventilator for four weeks. She couldn't see her family. She couldn't talk with anyone. But she was extremely grateful for the Summa family – nurses and doctors – who rallied around her.
"I've always had a high regard for nurses. But I never thought in a million years I would be counting on people that I had never met who were working so hard to save my life. They kept reassuring me that I was going to make it. That was priceless."
Transition of Care
When Lynn was finally discharged, she was not out of the woods. Because her lungs were scarred from the pneumonia, Lynn spent two weeks at the Summa Rehab Hospital to rebuild her strength. She then spent another three months with Summa Health Pulmonary Rehab to improve her lung functioning, which was coordinated through the Summa Health Post-COVID Clinic.
Lynn spent 14 weeks total in rehab.
Today, Lynn openly praises Summa Health for being with her every step of the way, especially Dr. Bauman who she still sees for continued lung care. "I don't drive by Summa and go, 'Oh my gosh, that's where I had COVID. I drive by and say that's where my life was saved.'"
Lynn is grateful to have her life back. Grateful to only be on oxygen at night. Grateful for the Kohl Family YMCA on Summa Health System – Akron Campus where she is building up her muscle. And, most of all, grateful to have fun with family and friends again.
"I love going out on our boat at sunset. It's just magical. I'm glad I still have the opportunity to do that because Summa saved my life."
