In late July this year Sesilia Palusa’s husband was feeling unwell with what seemed like a cold. Even though Sesilia didn’t have any symptoms, they both got tested for COVID-19 to be safe and their results were positive.
Within a day, Sesilia started feeling exhausted and had no energy to play with her two young daughters. Her breathing got progressively worse but the virtual health team checked in on her every day and sent Sesilia a kit to monitor her oxygen levels.
A few days later, her results were so alarmingly low that they told her to go straight to hospital. Sesilia went by ambulance to Royal North Shore Hospital where she spent three weeks in a coma, fighting for her life.
“The last thing I remember was struggling to breathe.”
For three weeks, Sesilia was on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), a machine that provided life support, temporarily taking over the work of her lungs. Sesilia’s sister Sana recalls how difficult it was for her and the rest of Sesilia’s family, not to be able to visit and be by her side.
“We were lucky the doctors kept us informed, regularly contacting us, no matter how small the update was.”
To help Sesilia’s family stay connected to her, ICU nurses set up a video link so her loved ones could check-in and talk to her even though she couldn’t respond. Sana remembers,
“One day the doctor called to say Sesilia was sitting up, and the happiness we felt is hard to explain.”
When Sesilia was discharged from the ICU, the staff clapped her out while she cried tears of joy. After a week in a ward, Sesilia left and surprised her whole family by arriving home one afternoon. After spending weeks at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sesilia is thankful for the doctors and nurses.
“I’m very grateful to the staff for saving my life, they went above and beyond for me and I’m lucky they were by my side 24/7 when my family couldn’t be.”