A Success Story

Juliette is a determined lady with a great attitude. An artist and retired high school art teacher, she was leading an active life when fire struck and quickly spread throughout her second floor apartment in New York City. Juliette’s son got out of her apartment as quickly as he could, but she suffered severe internal injuries from smoke inhalation. Taken by ambulance to the burn center at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, she was in a coma for three months while being treated for her injuries.

The burn center staff helped her to recover from her injuries and brought her out of coma. As her wounds healed and her condition improved, it became time to select a new facility for therapy and rehabilitation. She and her son decided upon Friedwald Center, an affiliate member of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System.

Arriving at Friedwald Center, she could not walk and could not speak well. Moreover, she had to be assisted in her breathing by oxygen and a ventilator machine. A tracheostomy was necessary and she had to take her food by a tube.

Friedwald’s physicians, nurses and therapists worked closely together to insure the best possible treatment for her. This treatment included respiratory therapy where therapists taught her exercises to strengthen her chest muscles and breathe on her own so she could be away from the ventilator for longer and longer periods of time. She also received extensive speech therapy to regain her speech and daily physical therapy so she could regain her walking skills.

Now, the tracheostomy has been reversed and she has been completely weaned away from the ventilator machine. As of this writing, she now eats three solid meals a day – joking that the only thing she is worried about is gaining weight. Meanwhile, her walking continues to improve. Her first milestone was to stand, then take 10 steps, and now she is taking 45 steps in 15-step increments.  And, her speech is fine; she loves to talk to visitors and to the Friedwald staff.

She thanks everyone at Friedwald Center and says that Friedwald had a lot to do with her recovery. Well, she did too. And now she says, she is ready to tackle life. She is one determined lady.