{"id":265516,"date":"2020-08-17T02:55:49","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T06:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=265516"},"modified":"2020-08-17T02:55:49","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T06:55:49","slug":"back-to-life-covid-lung-transplant-survivor-tells-her-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/08\/17\/back-to-life-covid-lung-transplant-survivor-tells-her-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to Life: COVID Lung Transplant Survivor Tells Her Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
On June 5, Ramirez, 28, became the first known COVID-19 patient in the U.S. to undergo a double lung transplant. She is strong enough now to begin sharing the story of her ordeal. (Pexels photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mayra Ramirez remembers the nightmares.<\/p>\n

During six weeks on life support at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ramirez said, she had terrifying nightmares that she couldn\u2019t distinguish from reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of them involve me drowning,\u201d she said. \u201cI attribute that to me not being able to breathe, and struggling to breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n

On June 5, Ramirez, 28, became the first known COVID-19 patient in the U.S.<\/a> to undergo a double lung transplant. She is strong enough now to begin sharing the story of her ordeal.<\/p>\n

Mysterious Exposure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before the pandemic, Ramirez worked as a paralegal for an immigration law firm in Chicago. She enjoyed walking her dogs and running 5K races.<\/p>\n

Ramirez had been working from home since mid-March, hardly leaving the house, so she has no idea how she contracted the coronavirus. In late April, she started experiencing chronic spasms, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell, and a slight fever.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt very fatigued,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t able to walk long distances without falling over. And that\u2019s when I decided to go into the emergency room.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the ER to a Ventilator<\/strong><\/p>\n

The staff at Northwestern checked her vitals and found her oxygen levels were extremely low. She was given 10 minutes to explain her situation over the phone to her mother in North Carolina and appoint her to make medical decisions on her behalf.<\/p>\n

Ramirez knew she was about to be placed on a ventilator, but she didn\u2019t understand exactly what that meant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Spanish, the word \u2018ventilator\u2019 \u2014 ventilador<\/em> \u2014 is \u2018fan,\u2019 so I thought, \u2018Oh, they\u2019re just gonna blow some air into me and I\u2019ll be OK. Maybe have a three-day stay, and then I\u2019ll be right out.\u2019 So I wasn\u2019t very worried,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

In fact, she would spend the next six weeks heavily sedated on that ventilator and another machine \u2014 known as ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation \u2014 pumping and oxygenating her blood outside of her body.<\/p>\n

One theory about why Ramirez became so sick is that she has a neurological condition<\/a> that is treated with steroids, drugs that can suppress the immune system.<\/p>\n

By early June, Ramirez was at risk of further decline. She began showing signs that her kidneys and liver were starting to fail, with no improvement in her lung function. Her family was told she might not make it through the night, so her mother and sisters caught the first flight from North Carolina to Chicago to say goodbye.<\/p>\n

When they arrived, the doctors told Ramirez\u2019s mother, Nohemi Romero, that there was one last thing they could try.<\/p>\n

Ramirez was a candidate for a double lung transplant, they said, although the procedure had never been done on a COVID patient in the U.S. Her mother agreed, and within 48 hours of being listed for transplant, a donor was found and the successful procedure was performed on June 5.<\/p>\n

At a recent news conference held by Northwestern Memorial, Romero shared in Spanish that there were no words to describe the pain of not being by her daughter\u2019s side as she struggled for her life.<\/p>\n

She thanked God all went well, and for giving her the strength to make it through.<\/p>\n

\u2018I Just Felt Like a Vegetable\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Ankit Bharat<\/a>, Northwestern Medicine\u2019s chief of thoracic surgery, performed the 10-hour procedure.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost patients are quite sick going into [a] lung transplant,\u201d Bharat said in an interview<\/a> in June. \u201cBut she was so sick. In fact, I can say without hesitation, the sickest patient I ever transplanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bharat said most COVID-19 patients will not be candidates for transplants because of their age and other health conditions that decrease the likelihood of success. And early research shows<\/a> that up to half of COVID patients on ventilators survive the illness and are likely to recover on their own.<\/p>\n

But for some, like Ramirez, Bharat said, a transplant can be a lifesaving option of last resort.<\/p>\n

When Ramirez woke up after the operation, she was disoriented, could barely move her body and couldn\u2019t speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just felt like a vegetable. It was frustrating, but at the time I didn\u2019t have the cognitive ability to process what was going on,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

She recalled being sad that her mother wasn\u2019t with her in the hospital, not understanding that visitors weren\u2019t allowed because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Her family had sent photos to post by her hospital bed, and Ramirez said she couldn\u2019t recognize anyone in the pictures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was actually sort of upset about it, [thinking,] \u2018Who are these strangers and why are their pictures in my room?\u2019\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cIt was weeks later, actually, that I took a second look and realized, \u2018Hey, that\u2019s my grandmother. That\u2019s my mom and my siblings. And that\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a few weeks, Ramirez said, she finally understood what happened to her. When COVID-19 restrictions loosened at the hospital in mid-June, her mother was finally able to visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I did was just tear up,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cI was overjoyed to see her.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Long Road to Recovery<\/strong><\/p>\n

After weeks of inpatient rehabilitation, Ramirez was discharged home. She\u2019s now receiving in-home nursing assistance as well as physical and occupational therapy, and she\u2019s working on finding a psychologist.<\/p>\n

Ramirez eagerly looks forward to being able to spend more time with her family, her boyfriend and her dogs and serving the immigrant community through her legal work.<\/p>\n

But for now, her days are consumed by rehab. Her doctors say it will be at least a year before she can function independently and be as active as before.<\/p>\n

Ramirez is slowly regaining strength and learning how to breathe with her new lungs.<\/p>\n

She takes 17 prescription medicines, some of them several times a day, including medicines to prevent her body from rejecting the new lungs. She also takes anxiety meds and antidepressants to help her cope with daily nightmares and panic attacks.<\/p>\n

The long-term physical and mental health tolls on Ramirez and other COVID-19 survivors remain largely unknown, since the virus is so new.<\/p>\n

While most people who contract the virus are left seemingly unscathed, for some patients, like Ramirez, the road to recovery is full of uncertainty, said Dr. Mady Hornig<\/a>, a physician-scientist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.<\/p>\n

Some patients can experience post-intensive care syndrome, or PICS, which can consist of depression, memory issues and other cognitive and mental health problems, Hornig said. Under normal circumstances, ICU visits from loved ones are encouraged, she said, because the human interaction can be protective.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat type of contact would normally keep people oriented \u2026 so that it doesn\u2019t become as traumatic,\u201d Hornig said.<\/p>\n

Hopes for the Future<\/strong><\/p>\n

COVID-19 has disproportionately harmed Latino communities<\/a>, as Latinos are overrepresented in jobs that expose them to the virus and have lower rates of health insurance and other social protections.<\/p>\n

Ramirez has health insurance, although that hasn\u2019t spared her from tens and thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of medical bills.<\/p>\n

And even though she still ended up getting COVID-19, she counts herself lucky for having a job that allowed her to work from home when the pandemic struck. Many Latino workers don\u2019t have that luxury, she said, so they\u2019re forced to risk their lives doing low-wage jobs deemed essential at this time.<\/p>\n

Ramirez\u2019s mother is a breast cancer survivor, making her particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. She had been working at a meatpacking plant in North Carolina, for a company that Ramirez said has had hundreds of COVID-19 cases among employees.<\/p>\n

So Ramirez is relieved to have her mom in Chicago, helping take care of her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad this is taking her away from her position,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

Friends and family in North Carolina have been fundraising to help pay her medical bills, selling raffle tickets and setting up a GoFundMe page<\/a> on her behalf. Ramirez is also applying for financial assistance from the hospital.<\/p>\n

Her experience with COVID-19 has not changed who she is as a person, she said, and she looks forward to living her life to the fullest.<\/p>\n

If she ever gets the chance to speak with the family of the person whose lungs she now has, she said, she will thank them \u201cfor raising such a healthy child and a caring person [who] was kind enough to become an organ donor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her life may never be the same, but that doesn\u2019t mean she won\u2019t try. She laughs as she explains how she asked her surgeon to take her skydiving someday.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Bharat actually used to work at a skydiving company when he was younger,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cAnd so he promised me that, hopefully within a year, he could get me there.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she has every intention of holding him to that promise.<\/p>\n

This story is part of a reporting partnership that includes Illinois Public Media, Side Effects Public Media, NPR and KHN.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kaiser Health News<\/a> (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation<\/a> which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.<\/p>\n

USE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n

This story can be republished for free (details<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Subscribe<\/a> to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.<\/p>\n

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