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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 11, 2020) It takes a village.
You generally hear this phrase used to describe raising children. UK HealthCare surgeon Dr. Rajasekhar Malyala uses it to describe saving a patient from COVID-19. “It is hands-on, intensive care,” he said. “It is a labor of love, especially on the part of the nursing and respiratory staff who are putting their lives at risk doing this.”
Treating a COVID-19 patient is particularly risky when they require advanced support, like a ventilator or, in dire cases, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
Demetrius Booker, 40, of La Grange, Kentucky, was one of those dire cases. He was transferred to UK Chandler Hospital in July after contracting COVID-19. “Demetrius came to us on very advanced life support,” Malyala said. “He was on a ventilator with a breathing tube and was heavily sedated. He was not conscious or aware of what was happening to him.”