Woman admitted to Toronto ICU for more than 300 days cleared to go home
After 340 days on a ventilator in intensive care at Humber River Hospital, 27-year-old Toronto resident Nicole Pampena was finally discharged Wednesday.
She was wheeled out of the hospital to the sounds of her favourite singer, Drake, and cheers from hospital staff.
“I’m not much of a bible thumper,” her father, Joseph Pampena, told CTV News Toronto. “But she really is a miracle."
He says when Nicole was initially admitted on Aug. 20 last year, after suffering bleeding and undergoing surgery, he was told she probably wouldn’t make it.
“However, I’ve been told that since she was born,” he says.
Nicole was born premature and has cerebral dysgenesis, a rare condition affecting brain development in infancy. She's unable to stand or swallow and needs constant nursing care.
While she was in ICU, she needed a tracheostomy. With her dedicated nursing support and her own determination, she was able to slowly improve.
Registered social worker Olivia Coughlin, who’s been with Nicole since she was admitted, says it’s extremely unusual for someone in ICU for so long to be allowed to go directly home.
“Typically patients who are on ventilators have to go to a secondary program before they're able to go directly home," Coughlin said. “So this is definitely a first for us, sending home directly from our ICU. It’s a very unique case.”
The key was having Nicole’s private nursing team get special training from Humber River Hospital and West Park Health, so they would be equipped to use her ventilator and related equipment.
The family has set up a GoFundMe in an effort to crowdsource funds needed to "offset some of the nursing expenses."
Joseph, who is blind, is Nicole’s main caregiver. Her mother died of liver cancer several years ago.
Joseph communicates with Nicole by placing his hand on her head, and Nicole, who is non-verbal, indicates her responses by nodding or shaking her head.
Nicole is only home for a day pass right now, but if everything goes smoothly, she should be able to go home permanently next week.
And that, Coughlin says, was her mother’s dying wish -- to have Nicole be safe and happy at home.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.