From Dependence to Independence - Client Success Story

It is very true when they say that when you’re a nurse you’ll touch the lives of those you care for and those you care for will touch your life!

Well……in this case, this quote is very true!

Our team of nurses got so inspired by the recovery of our remarkable client, Mr. T (Due to privacy purposes, we will not mention his name).

Mr. T was diagnosed with cancer in the intestine late 2023. To prevent spreading of the cancer, Mr. T decided to undergo surgery, whereas they would cut a piece of his intestine and connect it back together (Whipple surgery). The surgery procedure was a success.

After about 2 weeks post-op (while recovering on the ward of the hospital) something caused Mr. T to choke when he was eating. This led Mr. T to go into cardiac arrest, which led to an admission in the ICU, where he had to be intubated. While in the ICU, they had to put him in an induced coma. This lasted for 2,5 weeks. When they stopped the induced coma, it took about 2 weeks (due to medical reasons) for him to wake up. Mr. T stayed a total of 2 months in the ICU. He even had to get dialyses during this time because his kidneys were failing.

The doctors treating him at this time said that he would never be able to walk again. Two other doctors said that he wasn’t going to make it.

During his time in the ICU he lost practically all of his muscle tissue, including the muscles in his throat, which led to difficulty swallowing, which led to him getting a feeding tube.

After his admission in the ICU, he was transferred to the regular ward in the hospital where he had to regain his strength and get intense physical therapy. Mr. T had to learn how to do everything all over again. His stay on the regular ward was a total of 4 months (6 months total in the hospital)

Mr. T remembers bits and pieces of his admission in the hospital. He didn’t realize that he had been admitted for so long. One thing he knew in his heart was that he needed to fight!

He is thankful for the support of his wife and family during this time.

Mr. T is a Christian man and stated that he would pray a lot and trust the Almighty.

During his admission he prayed with all his faith and asked God to make him better. One day he woke up and was feeling much better. Shortly after this took place, Mr. T got the news that he would be discharged to go home. This news made him very excited! He wasn’t worried about how it would be once he got home.

His return home had Mr. T’s wife worried, however, due to the extent of his dependency at that time. But regardless of her concerns, both Mr. T and his wife remained in positive spirits and kept their faith up. During this time his wife learned many nursing skills as well. This bothered Mr. T so much (that his wife had to do everything), he said to himself that he must get his act together for his wife. During this time, they felt a sense of relief that they had arranged for care at home.

Side note: When they brought Mr. T back home, he came home on a stretcher and was placed on a hospital bed. During this time he was completely dependent on everything and everyone. Mr. T got home at the end of August 2024.

Our team assisted Mr. T with everything (such as assistance with bathing, getting dressed, wound care, assistance with the feeding tube). Little by little we started to teach him how to do everything again. He also received intense physical therapy at home by Roots therapy.

Thanks to this assistance at home, he is completely recovered and is back to independence today!

The assistance at home took a huge stress and worry away from Mr. T’s wife. They experienced the care as compassionate, patient and very caring. They don’t know if they could have done this by themselves.

We started to provide care to Mr. T at the end of August 2024 (together with physical therapy at home) and by December 2024, he was walking only with a walker, had no feeding tube and was going out with his wife. Today Mr. T walks with only a cane and is trying to drive again!

Mr. T’s biggest motivation is his wife. He also got more motivated every time he would make small improvements in his recovery.

His biggest lesson is to keep moving forward and to never give up and to take everything one step at a time.

This whole experience made a huge impact on his wife as well and changed her perspective on life forever. It made her realize how fragile life is, especially at their age (Mid 70’s). 

Today, his goal is to walk better (Mr. T. still walks with a cane) and to keep moving forward with no intentions of giving up, life is short enough. For Mr. T’s wife, her goal is to simplify their life and enjoy the little things that God has given them as much as possible.

Till this day our team is amazed by Mr. T’s remarkable recovery and mindset!

Mr. T, you are such an inspiration to us and others around you. You’ve impacted us in ways that you could not imagine, and we are forever thankful and honored to have been a part of your journey!