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A mother in Wisconsin received a life-saving double lung transplant after a four-month battle with the novel coronavirus.
Carmen Lerma, 52, director of United Migrant Opportunity Services in Milwaukee, tested positive for COVID-19 in July.
Her health rapidly deteriorated and she was admitted to hospital, spending 45 days in the intensive care unit on a ventilator.
Doctors quickly determined that the virus had caused irreversible damage to Lerma’s lungs and that she would not be able to leave the hospital until she received a new set.
After spending a few days on the transplant waiting list, a match was found for Lerma, and two weeks later she was finally released from the hospital and was able to reunite with her family.
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Carmen Lerma, 52, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, underwent a life-saving double lung transplant after a four-month battle with the coronavirus. Pictured: Lerma released from hospital
Lerma, 52, was diagnosed with coronavirus in mid-July after coming into contact with an infected person. She was admitted to Ascension St Francis Hospital shortly thereafter and spent 45 days in the ICU on a ventilator. Pictured: Lerma before contracting the coronavirus, left, and in hospital, right
‘I have not seen [my family] in a while, getting up and coming to them is priceless, ”Lerma said in a UW Health blog post.
“I never thought I could do it again, so I really want to thank all of the doctors and nurses at UW Health. It was a difficult journey, but a great ending.
In July, Lerma received a call from the state health department telling her that she was exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, according to WTMJ-TV.
She then tested positive too and quickly admitted to Ascension Saint Francis in Milwaukee.
She spent 45 days on a ventilator and, although she managed to be extubated, the virus caused irreversible damage to her lungs.
“I have double pneumonia. I was attacked by my immune system, ” Lerma told WISN 12.
“ This coronavirus attacked me in every way it could. ”
Lerma has no underlying health issues and has stated that she quit smoking several years ago.
She was then transferred to UW Health, Madison, where she was told she would stay until a donor was found.
“It’s unclear how long Carmen would have had,” Dr. Dan McCarthy, cardiothoracic surgeon at UW Health, said in the blog post.
“ Even in the two weeks she was with us in the hospital, even though she was hired and working hard, we saw a decline in her function to the point where we actually put her on the artificial lung machine. . ”
The machine, known asn Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO), pumps and oxygenates a patient’s blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest.
After she was extubated, Lerma’s doctors told her that the virus had caused permanent damage to her lungs and that she needed a double lung transplant. Lerma was transferred to UW Health, Madison, and after just a few days on the transplant list, a match was found. Pictured: Lerma before contracting the virus, left, and in hospital, right
Two weeks after her operation, and four months after her diagnosis, Lerma was able to leave the hospital and be reunited with her family (above)
Fortunately, after only a few days on the transplant list, the doctors found a solution to give Lerma a second chance at life.
Last Thursday, two weeks after her transplant and four months after her diagnosis of COVID-19, she left the transplant unit at the university hospital.
The video filmed her meeting in front of the hospital entrance with her husband, brother and mother.
She said she wanted to make sure others remembered to fight off their masks to protect themselves and others.
“Put on your mask,” Lerma told WISN 12.
“ Maybe you don’t care, but protect your parents, your children, your grandparents because they are the ones who are going to fight the most. ”
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