Your place to give

For Christie, it was like being plunged into a nightmare.

Her husband, Ben, went to bed with flu-like symptoms. He was 37 years old, fit and active. They thought it couldn’t be serious.

But it was.

When Ben woke in the night, confused and disorientated, he was rushed into ICU at the PA Hospital. Christie remembers that what happened next was beyond shocking.

 “I was told to call any family members who wanted to see him and say goodbye. I didn’t even cry because I couldn’t take it in.”

Ben’s life was hanging by a thread. He was found to have an infection that had weakened his heart and caused a stroke. Once the infection was under control, he needed open heart surgery, but only when he was strong enough.

Patients who are immobile start to lose muscle mass within 24 hours. During 33 days in ICU, Ben was going to make significant losses. That’s why we’ve introduced in-bed cycle ergometers that are attached to the bed. Even patients like Ben, who are on a ventilator, can use them to gain the benefits of exercise.

Right now, $177,000 is urgently needed to invest in innovative equipment that enables critically ill patients like Ben to make the best possible recovery.

Please donate now to fund innovative equipment and research at the PA Hospital.

Your donation could help give a patient like Ben the strength to survive – and the chance to come home.