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
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.