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Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/came+sick+sicker+quickly/1829788/story.html
'He came in sick and got sicker quickly'
Seriousness of virus can't be downplayed says patient who spent 5 weeks in a coma
By CHARLIE FIDELMAN, The GazetteJuly 26, 2009
When Dale Altrows showed up at the ER with fever, blurry vision and a dry cough, doctors weren't sure what he had.
Altrows arrived at the Jewish General Hospital on May 17, about the same time as H1N1 cases leveled off in Mexico, considered the epicentre of the virus, and World Health Organization experts warned of a potential worldwide outbreak.
Officials at the Jewish weren't taking any chances. They suspected Altrows had pneumonia, but they also tested him for swine flu. Twice.
The first test came back negative but Altrows's health deteriorated rapidly. The infection in his lung took over. He needed help breathing. His family was warned that he might not make it.
A second test confirmed H1N1 virus. "I don't remember anything after that," Altrows said.
He awoke in ICU five weeks later - freaked out because he couldn't walk or talk. "He was in a medically induced coma," said his partner, Carl Olssen.
Now that he's home, Altrows says that swine flu fears are no hype even though stories of infection no longer make front-page headlines.
"The seriousness of the flu should not be downplayed," said Altrows, who initially went to a hospital in LaSalle, where he was prescribed antibiotics. He landed at the Jewish two days later when his symptoms worsened.
Altrows's family filled him in on what had happened. He was placed in isolation and heavily sedated.
Despite getting doses of Tamiflu, his organs started shutting down.
His kidneys failed, blood clots filled his lungs, and he needed a tracheostomy, a surgical procedure to create an opening through the neck into the windpipe, to breath.
"Doctors were very clear about whether he would live or die," Olssen said. "They told me he might die and he wasn't in the clear for a long time." It was a very difficult time, Olssen recalled, "but I was struck by one thing: The kindness of the doctors, nurses and orderlies." The majority of people infected with swine flu have mild illnesses that don't require medical intervention, said Paul Warshawsky, a specialist in intensive care at the Jewish.
"But this was at the beginning. No one knew what was happening in Mexico and why it was so severe," he said.
Most people who died of swine flu had pre-existing medical conditions. Altrows had asthma.
Altrows had developed acute respiratory distress syndrome, a severe inflammation of the lungs that has a mortality rate 40 per cent, Warshawsky said.
"He came sick and got sicker quickly. We were able to turn that around. A lot of nurses worked very hard on him, so we're pleased," he said.
He was put on a special ventilator that vibrates the lungs and provides the equivalent of three to 15 breaths per second, then surgery to his windpipe.
A month later, doctors opened his chest to remove stagnant blood. That's when he started to improve.
The Quebec public health department is reporting 488 hospitalizations because of swine flu and 17 deaths.
cfidelman@ thegazette.canwest.com
'He came in sick and got sicker quickly'
Seriousness of virus can't be downplayed says patient who spent 5 weeks in a coma
By CHARLIE FIDELMAN, The GazetteJuly 26, 2009
When Dale Altrows showed up at the ER with fever, blurry vision and a dry cough, doctors weren't sure what he had.
Altrows arrived at the Jewish General Hospital on May 17, about the same time as H1N1 cases leveled off in Mexico, considered the epicentre of the virus, and World Health Organization experts warned of a potential worldwide outbreak.
Officials at the Jewish weren't taking any chances. They suspected Altrows had pneumonia, but they also tested him for swine flu. Twice.
The first test came back negative but Altrows's health deteriorated rapidly. The infection in his lung took over. He needed help breathing. His family was warned that he might not make it.
A second test confirmed H1N1 virus. "I don't remember anything after that," Altrows said.
He awoke in ICU five weeks later - freaked out because he couldn't walk or talk. "He was in a medically induced coma," said his partner, Carl Olssen.
Now that he's home, Altrows says that swine flu fears are no hype even though stories of infection no longer make front-page headlines.
"The seriousness of the flu should not be downplayed," said Altrows, who initially went to a hospital in LaSalle, where he was prescribed antibiotics. He landed at the Jewish two days later when his symptoms worsened.
Altrows's family filled him in on what had happened. He was placed in isolation and heavily sedated.
Despite getting doses of Tamiflu, his organs started shutting down.
His kidneys failed, blood clots filled his lungs, and he needed a tracheostomy, a surgical procedure to create an opening through the neck into the windpipe, to breath.
"Doctors were very clear about whether he would live or die," Olssen said. "They told me he might die and he wasn't in the clear for a long time." It was a very difficult time, Olssen recalled, "but I was struck by one thing: The kindness of the doctors, nurses and orderlies." The majority of people infected with swine flu have mild illnesses that don't require medical intervention, said Paul Warshawsky, a specialist in intensive care at the Jewish.
"But this was at the beginning. No one knew what was happening in Mexico and why it was so severe," he said.
Most people who died of swine flu had pre-existing medical conditions. Altrows had asthma.
Altrows had developed acute respiratory distress syndrome, a severe inflammation of the lungs that has a mortality rate 40 per cent, Warshawsky said.
"He came sick and got sicker quickly. We were able to turn that around. A lot of nurses worked very hard on him, so we're pleased," he said.
He was put on a special ventilator that vibrates the lungs and provides the equivalent of three to 15 breaths per second, then surgery to his windpipe.
A month later, doctors opened his chest to remove stagnant blood. That's when he started to improve.
The Quebec public health department is reporting 488 hospitalizations because of swine flu and 17 deaths.
cfidelman@ thegazette.canwest.com