Jim Durre's Story 

A Shoulder to Lean On

Patients are not the only people who need to be cared for at a hospital. The family members who look after their loved ones while they are at the medical center are just as much a part of the care as the patient.

On October 22, 2009, after battling flu symptoms for more than a week, Jim Durre drove his wife Tammy to the Emergency Department at OSF Saint James-John W. Albrecht Medical Center in Pontiac, Illinois. Emergency Department physicians quickly transferred her to OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, where physicians determined Tammy was not only battling influenza; she was battling Influenza A, more commonly known as H1N1.

Shortly after being admitted to the Comprehensive Care Center, Tammy developed pneumonia. Her condition rapidly progressed to the point where she was placed on ventilator support. Her family was told to prepare for the worst.

"We really didn't think it was serious. We thought, ‘It's just the flu'" Jim said. "Next thing you know my wife is on a ventilator. It felt like a nightmare."

Tammy's mother Connie and 14-year old daughter Madison stayed at the hospital with Jim, while Tammy underwent treatment after treatment, in an attempt to save her life.

"The nurses accepted my family with open arms and made us part of the process. They constantly kept us informed, every step of the way," Jim said. "Everything we needed, they provided. It was probably the most humbling experience I've ever dealt with."

Kishore Karamchandani, MD, Director of Critical Care, was Tammy's intensivist. Dr. Karamchandani made certain Jim and his family understood everything that was happening with his wife. "He had a game plan and he executed it," Jim said. "He explained Tammy's medical condition to us in simple terms and he was straight forward. We knew how serious the situation was."

Tammy was placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine. The ECMO machine allowed Tammy's blood to be oxygenated while she was on ventilator support, similar to a dialysis. If the oxygenation was successful, Tammy would have her best chance at surviving and recovering from lung complications she experienced due to severity of her pneumonia and influenza.

The ECMO machine was successful. Tammy's blood was oxygenated and her condition slowly began to improve. The nursing staff told Jim and his family to expect "baby steps" in Tammy's overall improvement. Everyday they watched and waited until one day Dr. Karamchandani saw a "window of opportunity." Tammy was finally healthy enough able to be taken off of the ECMO machine. Baby steps. With family and the nursing staff by her side, Tammy was able to be removed from ventilator support a week later.

On November 16, 2009, Tammy was discharged from the hospital. Tammy continues to work on regaining her strength, making a full recovery through rehabilitation.

Her daughter Madison continues to stay in touch with some of the nurses who took care of her mother. "A couple of the nurses e-mail back and forth with my daughter," Jim said. "They were a great support system for both of us. We made friends for life at OSF."

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