Patient Stories

"As a speech-language pathologist in a Neuro ICU, I often work with patients during the most challenging times of their lives. We are all in crisis now with COVID-19 yet people are still having strokes and brain tumors and need to be hospitalized for non-COVID reasons. 

I have been working with a patient who is newly trach to vent and cannot speak. He is cognitively intact yet with bilateral arm and hand weakness. Currently, he cannot access an alphabet board independently. He relies on partner-assisted scanning to spell out words and messages to his communication partners. This is a system that he has been using for the past several days very effectively with his family. 

Now, due to strict visitor policy to protect our patients and healthcare workers from the spread of COVID-19, no visitors are allowed. 

This is especially difficult for this patient because his wife is pregnant and he repeatedly asks about her and the baby's health using the alphabet board. We were able to coordinate a FaceTime call with his wife and they decided it was time to choose a name for the baby. It was very humbling to be a part of such a special time in their lives as I provided partner-assisted scanning for him to offer his baby name votes. 

We are all terrified of this pandemic right now. The inability to speak can be socially isolating and now with strict visitor limitations in healthcare facilities, our patients who use communication tools need our support more than ever to express their own fears and emotions related to all of this and facilitate virtual interactions with their loved ones."