A Screen Worthy Victory: Code Rocky Patient We’ve Got You Covered: Local Chinese Community

A Screen Worthy Victory

”Code Rocky” Patient Lisa Fernandez Perseveres Through COVID-19 Diagnosis

fter Lisa Fernandez started feeling a little achy in late March, she A chalked it up to lupus, with which she was diagnosed in 2018. Later, when she developed a scratchy throat, she figured the pollen was triggering her allergies. After the chest tightness and breathing trouble started, she assumed it was a recurrence of bronchitis. Fernandez was also stressed about a family member’s health condition, so she assumed the combination of factors was causing her to feel bad. On March 26, she described her symptoms to her pulmonologist, who called in a prescription. Two days later she contacted him again and he increased her dosage. When Fernandez contacted him on March 31 — the third time in five days — he advised her to go to an ER or urgent care. Fernandez went to urgent care, where a chest Xray revealed double pneumonia. The doctor informed her that her pulmonologist had been notified. “I’ve called REX’s ER and made an appointment,” the doctor told Fernandez. ”They know you’re coming.” At UNC REX, officials verified Fernandez’s ID and instructed her sons Alex, 23, and Jason, 19, to remain in the car. The only belongings she was allowed to bring inside were a credit card, an insurance card, her ID and her cell phone. As Fernandez was being wheeled into the hospital, the 53-year-old married mother of two had no idea her life was about to permanently change.

Once inside, she was given a COVID-19 test, which came back positive. The next day, officials showed her how to use an Incentive Spirometer, a handheld respiratory tool that measures how much air volume

the lungs can hold. Based on how she felt, Fernandez suspected she’d be put on a ventilator, so she communicated with her family via FaceTime and recorded phone messages while she still had the ability.

“I told my sons if I didn’t make it I’d be there as an angel on their shoulders when they get married,” Fernandez recalls. “I encouraged them to go after their passions. I got to record only a half message to my husband Frank before it was time for them to intubate me.”

Ultimately, Fernandez was in a coma 21 days and spent 55 days total at UNC REX. Registered Nurse Tommy Fayet and Speech Therapist Charity Lovette were among her primary caregivers during her stay.

“Lisa is an educated woman, she asked appropriate health-related questions and understood that her condition wasn’t ideal,” Fayet says. “I noticed her anxiety, so we talked about our families so I could keep her mind off things. During her recovery from her intubation she needed to understand that it would be a slow process, but she was so motivated to move forward that she’d get frustrated and needed to be reminded about how she was on death’s doorstep and how far she’d already come.”

Fernandez’s husband, Frank, illustrated a special thank you to her care team – all heroes to the Fernandez family.

Lovette and Beth Cormell, UNC REX’s primary COVID-19 speech pathologists, worked with her while she was in ICU and ventilator dependent.

“Lisa was vented and they also placed a tracheostomy tube which gave her the ability to voice, and that’s when we really started to delve into her communication, voice and swallow function,” Lovette says. “She went from having to be tube fed to transitioning to eating by mouth. She went from having no voice, being aphonic, to being able to regain her voice function.”

The speech pathologist who has worked at UNC REX for more than 16 years says she was struck by Fernandez’s determination and upbeat attitude.

“Lisa has the best personality,” Lovette recalls. “She was just so lively and she was

so engaged and had such a funny sense of humor. We’d just laugh and laugh in the room during our therapy sessions. She’s very down to earth and she worked really, really hard. I know there were times that she was anxious, and rightfully so after going through what she went through, but she was a fighter for sure.”

Memory loss is common among COVID-19 patients, and Fernandez doesn’t remember everything about her nearly two-month hospital stay.

“When I first woke up from being on the ventilator I had no clue where I was,” she says. “My eyes weren’t tracking and they were concerned that I had brain damage from being on the ventilator so long. I kept asking over and over and over where I was because it wasn’t clear in my head. At that point I knew only who I was. It was too hard for my oldest son, Alex, to be on the phone with me when I was like that. And I know it was really difficult for Jason to talk to me, but he did it.”

Fernandez didn’t know what life would look like after she got discharged from the hospital, but she was eager to find out.

“She was motivated and very much wanted to be independent, but I was direct with Lisa and told her how it was without sugarcoating anything…” Fayet says. “I think (at times) she just needed some direction to keep her on the right path.”

Besides Fayet, Lovette and a host of other hospital personnel, Fernandez is grateful to Dr. Mary McCormack.

“She took her time explaining things to me and answering questions, and I never felt rushed or like she was in a hurry to get out of the room,” Fernandez says. “I was confident in her medical knowledge and how she was actively keeping up on the emerging information on the virus. She Her family appreciated McCormack as well.

“They thought she was awesome,” Fernandez says. “She kept them informed about me and was very kind. She let them know how serious it was but also that it could be worse and did it in a way to ensure they were okay with the information.”

Fernandez turned 54 while she was hospitalized. Over a month later, she was discharged amid much fanfare and TV cameras.

“As I got wheeled out, the hospital employees started clapping,” she recalls. “But I was clapping for them — all of the doctors and nurses and therapists and everybody who treated me. My husband and my sons were looking at me. They were sort of frozen and I was sort of frozen. As I walked closer to them, they started coming towards me. We became a little square hug. Just the four of us.”

Now that she’s home, Fernandez is adjusting to her new normal. She says she’s “super forgetful” and struggles with simple addition and telephone numbers. Her hair is falling out and she’s gained weight because of steroid medication.

At times, other things are amiss. For example, she has mistakenly put salt in the

When a COVID-19 patient is released, a “Code Rocky” is called to alert staff. Cheers and applause erupt as the patient is discharged! Fernandez gets a warm embrace as she prepares to leave UNC REX after 55 days.

refrigerator, she can forget a thought midsentence, and a mild sore throat and slight metal taste signal it’s time for her to rest.

Fernandez and her husband and sons did everything they could to remain safe, including wearing face masks long before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended them. Yet despite everything she’s been through, she isn’t wallowing in self-pity.

She just wants people to take the coronavirus seriously and acknowledges she was fortunate to survive. Moreover, she’s immeasurably grateful to UNC REX.

“There were so many good people there, like Dr. McCormack, Tommy and Charity, who were professional and good at what they did,” she says. “There were housekeepers who quietly and efficiently went about their work and weren’t intrusive. There was a nurse’s aide who helped me get into the shower when I was told I couldn’t wash my hair.

“There was one nurse who came in and tidied up my room, and I felt terrific after that,” Fernandez continues. “There were the people in food service who made hospital food that was not only palatable but often very good. It was humbling to me how so many people were invested in me getting well, who risked their own lives and their families’ lives to save mine.”