{"id":9609,"date":"2023-08-14T17:10:05","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T00:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?page_id=9609"},"modified":"2024-12-18T14:07:56","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T22:07:56","slug":"patient-story-building-motivation-together-samaritan-health-services","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/about-samaritan\/together\/patient-story-building-motivation-together-samaritan-health-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Motivation Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Patient Story Matt Umberger Covid-19<\/h1>\n\t\t\t
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\u201cTell my wife I love her and my kids, too.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Matt Umberger<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Albany Man Shares His Survival & Recovery From COVID-19  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It had been four days since Matt Umberger, 52, of Albany was admitted to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center with severe complications from COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He received oxygen and antibiotics, and doctors moved him to the prone position so he could breathe easier. But he was getting worse. Much worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nurse at his bedside, Brandy Tyler, RN, caught the look in his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can tell that you are tired,\u201d she said with kindness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was time. He didn\u2019t think he could live another day.  His only option was to trust his doctors and be placed on a ventilator to breathe for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that time, the odds were against him coming off the ventilator alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTell my wife I love her and my kids, too,\u201d Umberger said to Tyler.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Then he thought, I can\u2019t leave anyone out. \u201cAnd my sister and parents,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then everything faded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Oct. 6, 2020, Umberger woke up with what he thought were flu symptoms. He didn\u2019t think it could be COVID because he had been careful to wear a mask. But his symptoms persisted another three days until he got tested.  It was confirmed positive on Oct. 12. Umberger still thought he could quarantine and recover at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then he spiked a fever of 104.1. His stepson found him sleeping outside on the front porch, trying to cool down.  At 2 a.m. on Oct. 15, Umberger woke his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need you to take me to the hospital,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dropping him off at the Emergency Department was the last time Tara Umberger saw her husband for 26 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Umberger was critically ill and would spend eight days on a ventilator in the ICU.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI didn\u2019t think I was going to come off of the ventilator.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Matt Umberger<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Before a vaccine was available, the ability to save patients was less than it is today. If a patient had to be put on a ventilator, the mortality rate in U.S. hospitals then was 80%. Although, at Good Samaritan ICU, patient outcomes were often better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like other patients hospitalized with COVID, Umberger was given steroids to help his body recover. Additionally, care teams tried to prevent complications by maintaining IV nutrition and avoiding pneumonia infections, skin breakdown and blood clots with bedside care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He recalls softly spoken words of encouragement about his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re pushing for you, Matt. They\u2019re waiting for you to get better,\u201d he heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He remembers being asked to try to breathe on his own.  But he would panic, and alarms would sound. Then he would fall back asleep.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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They woke him a fourth time to try the breathing test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to turn off the machine to see if you can breathe on your own,\u201d he heard. \u201cJust relax.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He waited for the test to start. \u201cOK Matt, we\u2019ve had the ventilator off and you\u2019re breathing on your own,\u201d he heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pulmonologist James Knight, MD, leaned down. \u201cCongratulations, Matt. You kicked COVID\u2019s butt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoes that mean I get to go home now?\u201d Umberger asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Dr Knight replied. \u201cIt means the easy part is over. Now begins the rest of your journey to recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had no idea what he meant,\u201d Umberger recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next eight months, he would learn that his doctor was right. Surviving was just the beginning.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen I came home from the hospital one of the hardest things to do was to get from the car to the couch.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Matt Umberger<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Umberger recalled a motivating conversation with a nurse on his care team. \u201cI am here to help you get better so you can take care of yourself,\u201d Joe Pyles, RN, explained. It was like flipping a switch. From that point, Umberger worked hard at his recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he came home from the hospital, he needed his wife\u2019s help to walk to the bathroom. In four weeks, he had lost 60 pounds, and his legs were weak. He relied on supplemental oxygen for several weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt like a 95-year-old man,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Umberger started pulmonary rehabilitation and eventually graduated to working out on his own three days a week. He continues to receive follow-up care from Samaritan Medical Group Pulmonology \u2013 Corvallis and takes medication to repair the damage to his lungs caused by COVID. There are some activities that still make him winded and cause his oxygen level to drop.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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But Umberger considers himself lucky. After missing nearly four months from work, he was able to return in January 2021. By the spring, he resumed fishing and other recreational activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow, I feel like my age again,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not 100% yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Umberger was hospitalized, there have been some developments in treatment. But the medical community still does not understand why some people without underlying health conditions become severely ill from COVID. And doctors are still not able to save everyone, including Umberger\u2019s mom, Nancy Umberger, of Toledo, who died Oct. 14, 2021, of complications due to COVID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before he was hospitalized, Umberger didn\u2019t fully comprehend how serious COVID was. \u201cI thought it was overblown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now he knows better, and he is motivated to share his story in hopes that others can stay healthy. As soon as he was eligible, Umberger received the COVID-19 vaccine.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI am blessed.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Matt Umberger<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Protect Yourself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Vaccination remains the best way to prevent infection and severe illness from COVID-19. While vaccinated people may still contract the virus, they are significantly less likely to become severely ill, be hospitalized or die from the disease. At Samaritan hospitals in Albany, Corvallis, Lincoln City, Lebanon and Newport, an average of nine out of 10 hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Get Vaccinated<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Nurse Shares Her Experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Critical Care Nurse Starla Becker-Tillinghast, RN, explains the unique ways COVID-19 affects patients physically, the treatments involved in fighting the virus and the difficulties critically ill patients experience during hospitalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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