{"id":33076,"date":"2020-07-17T11:30:33","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T17:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=33076"},"modified":"2023-04-03T15:15:48","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T21:15:48","slug":"boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo\/","title":{"rendered":"Boulder woman survives COVID-19 thanks to artificial lung treatments called ECMO"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><figure id=\"attachment_33089\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33089\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-33089 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17111029\/Seated-smiling-tiny.webp\" alt=\"ECMO treatments for COVID-19 helped Barbara Gould survive. Here, she sits in her driveway after arriving home.\" width=\"600\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17111029\/Seated-smiling-tiny.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17111029\/Seated-smiling-tiny-300x234.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17111029\/Seated-smiling-tiny-150x117.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17111029\/Seated-smiling-tiny-200x156.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33089\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara Gould was thrilled to arrive home this week after enduring a long battle with COVID-19. With her are her husband, Allen Taggart, and her daughter and son, Rebecca and Sam Taggart. Artificial lung treatments called ECMO saved Barbara&#8217;s life. Photos by Katie Kerwin McCrimmon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The welcome-home posters hung just over the wraparound front porch at the house in Boulder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe love you higher than the sky, deeper than the sea, greater than the universe,\u201d said one sign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re home! You Rock!\u201d and \u201cBarbara beat COVID,\u201d said others.<\/p>\n<p>Colorful chalk on the sidewalk chronicled the remarkable journey: 65 days on a ventilator, three months and one week in hospitals and 15 days on an artificial lung system called ECMO.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"After 3-month battle with COVID-19, Barbara comes home | UCHealth\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vWsbVa8mJho?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Back when Barbara Gould, 64, got sick and had to leave home, the spring flowers were just poking up through the dirt. The nearby foothills north of Boulder were green. Now a hot, dry summer had turned them brown.<\/p>\n<p>And finally, Barbara was home.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33100\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33100\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-33100\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121906\/Blowing-kisses-wiping-tears-tiny.webp\" alt=\"ECMO treatments for COVID helped Barbara Gould. She made it home this week and friends and neighbors surprised her.\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121906\/Blowing-kisses-wiping-tears-tiny.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121906\/Blowing-kisses-wiping-tears-tiny-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121906\/Blowing-kisses-wiping-tears-tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121906\/Blowing-kisses-wiping-tears-tiny-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33100\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Friends, neighbors and synagogue members greeted Barbara Gould when she arrived home this week. Some wiped tears away. Others blew kisses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Family, friends, neighbors and members of her synagogue had prayed for her throughout the ordeal. Now about 50 of them greeted her with a surprise homecoming celebration.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara\u2019s husband, Allen Taggart, steered the car into the driveway, breaking through a streamer attached to a sign that said, \u201cfinish line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Barbara stepped out, took a few steps on her own, then sat to rest on the bench of her walker, surveyed the crowd and absorbed the healing love emanating from them.<\/p>\n<p>She placed her hand over her heart, smiled and thanked them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou saved my life and I know it,\u201d Barbara said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33081\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33081\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-33081 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17072851\/Hands-in-the-air-cropped-and-tiny.webp\" alt=\"ECMO and COVID-19. Barbara Gould returns home after more than 3 months in hospitals, 65 days on a ventilator and 15 days on ECMO.\" width=\"600\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17072851\/Hands-in-the-air-cropped-and-tiny.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17072851\/Hands-in-the-air-cropped-and-tiny-300x209.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17072851\/Hands-in-the-air-cropped-and-tiny-150x104.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17072851\/Hands-in-the-air-cropped-and-tiny-200x139.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33081\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara Gould was thrilled to return home after more than 3 months in hospitals, 65 days on a ventilator and 15 days on ECMO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Asked how it felt to be home, she said, \u201cIt\u2019s magnificent. To feel the love and support is so strengthening. It\u2019s the power of community. I believe that it, along with the doctors, saved my life and saved my family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A spontaneous chant erupted.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara\u2019s rabbi, Fred Greene, and others said a prayer in Hebrew called the Shehecheyanu.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara grinned and joined in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a prayer for new beginnings and special occasions,\u201d said Betty Vanderlinden, a friend of Barbara\u2019s. She choked on emotion as she talked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is what we prayed for. We just couldn\u2019t stand the thought of her not coming home. She\u2019s a giver and a very loved woman.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A medical \u2018Hail Mary\u2019 to survive COVID-19<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>All of her life, Barbara has cared for others.<\/p>\n<p>She was only 22 when she helped open Boulder\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.safehousealliance.org\/\">Safehouse<\/a> for women coping with domestic violence. She earned a degree in social work and helped resettle Soviet Jewish refugees. For many years, she worked at her synagogue, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harhashem.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Congregation HarHashem in Boulder<\/a>, to help\u00a0interfaith families and families coping with grief or loss.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s the kind of person who has spent her life giving to others and taking care of others. She is absolutely the most empathetic person I have ever known. She feels others\u2019 pain, sorrow and loss in ways I cannot fathom,\u2019\u2019 said Gould\u2019s husband, Allen, a 68-year-old retired lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara wasn\u2019t used to needing help herself.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33099\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33099\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-33099\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121840\/Barbara-with-family-tiny.webp\" alt=\"COVID and ECMO. Barbara Gould, back, with her family before she contracted COVID-19.\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121840\/Barbara-with-family-tiny.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121840\/Barbara-with-family-tiny-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121840\/Barbara-with-family-tiny-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121840\/Barbara-with-family-tiny-200x150.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33099\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara before she got sick with COVID-19. Here, she poses with her husband, Allen, left, their daughter, Rebecca, center, their daughter in law, Amanda Capers in yellow and their son, Sam. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Taggart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Then, she got COVID-19. As her illness became worse and worse, she had to depend upon countless folks from doctors to nurses to chaplains and palliative care experts.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara ultimately needed caregivers at two hospitals, an emergency helicopter ride from one hospital to the other, rehabilitation at two facilities and those 65 days on a ventilator \u2013 three times as long as the average COVID-19 patient at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-university-of-colorado-hospital-uch\/\">UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (UCH)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>She also benefited from a medical \u201cHail Mary.\u201d When she wasn\u2019t improving on a ventilator at her hometown hospital, Barbara\u2019s doctors at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bch.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Boulder Community Health<\/a> sought help from other area hospitals. They hoped to find a team that could give Barbara\u2019s lungs a rest through a procedure known as ECMO, which stands for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33101\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33101\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-33101\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121910\/Family-pic-tiny.webp\" alt=\"COVID and ECMO - Barbara Gould with her family.\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121910\/Family-pic-tiny.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121910\/Family-pic-tiny-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121910\/Family-pic-tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121910\/Family-pic-tiny-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33101\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara Gould credited her family, her community and her doctors with saving her life.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The kind she needed is known as \u201cvenovenous ECMO.\u201d Doctors place large tubes in the patient\u2019s neck or groin and direct the tubes into the heart. The tubes bring blood out of the heart, then through an oxygenator and back to the heart to be pumped to the body. ECMO does the \u201cwork of breathing\u201d thereby giving a person whose lungs are failing a chance to recover.<\/p>\n<p>One Denver hospital turned Barbara\u2019s caregivers down because she already had been on a ventilator for more than a week.<\/p>\n<p>Preliminary studies from China and Italy showed that many COVID-19 patients who received ECMO did poorly. For medical experts elsewhere, this was an alarming finding since ECMO had worked well during previous pandemics, including the H1N1 flu.<\/p>\n<p>The team at University of Colorado Hospital had to consider Barbara\u2019s circumstances carefully before accepting her.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/jessica-rove-md\/\">Dr. Jessica Yu Rove<\/a>, a cardiac surgeon and <a href=\"https:\/\/som.ucdenver.edu\/Profiles\/Faculty\/Profile\/27478\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">assistant professor<\/a> at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-seniors-clinic-anschutz\/\">University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>, spoke with Allen and made the call.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33106\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33106\" style=\"width: 209px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-33106\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17125111\/Dr.-Jessica-Rove.webp\" alt=\"ECMO and COVID\" width=\"209\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17125111\/Dr.-Jessica-Rove.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17125111\/Dr.-Jessica-Rove-209x300.webp 209w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17125111\/Dr.-Jessica-Rove-104x150.webp 104w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17125111\/Dr.-Jessica-Rove-200x288.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 209px) 100vw, 209px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33106\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Jessica Rove.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Yes, Barbara was older than most patients considered for ECMO therapy. And, at that point, she had been on a ventilator for 15 days, well past the period thought to be critical to boost the chances of recovery.<\/p>\n<p>But, aside from the lung damage, Barbara\u2019s other organs were holding up well. Many critically ill COVID-19 patients also suffer severe kidney and heart damage as the virus wreaks havoc on their bodies. But Barbara\u2019s heart was strong \u2013 both literally and metaphorically \u2013 and she never needed dialysis.<\/p>\n<p>Rove and the team agreed to the transfer, and that\u2019s when Barbara took an emergency helicopter from Boulder to Aurora.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a long shot but we considered her individual case and had to do what was right for her at the time, which was to give her a chance,\u201d Rove said. \u201cWe have to be very forthcoming with families. I could not promise Allen that she was going to live. I said that ECMO would be her Hail Mary.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u2018It\u2019s going to be OK\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Back before U.S. health experts knew there were any cases of the new coronavirus in Colorado or very many other places around the world, Barbara and Allen had gone on a cruise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBarbara\u2019s happy place is on the water. She\u2019ll be on deck to see the sun come up. She\u2019ll be on deck until it sets,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33104\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33104\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-33104\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17124731\/Barbara-Gould-on-water-tiny.webp\" alt=\"ECMO and COVID - Barbara Gould poses on a ship with water in the background\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17124731\/Barbara-Gould-on-water-tiny.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17124731\/Barbara-Gould-on-water-tiny-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17124731\/Barbara-Gould-on-water-tiny-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17124731\/Barbara-Gould-on-water-tiny-200x150.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33104\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara Gould&#8217;s happy place is being on water. Here, she poses during a cruise. Photo courtesy of Allen Taggart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The couple had enjoyed a cruise in South America from mid-February through mid-March. They returned home to Boulder on March 17. No one else on their trip got sick, so they theorized that perhaps they had picked up the virus on the plane home, during a layover in Atlanta or perhaps on the ride home from Denver International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>Both got sick, but at first it didn\u2019t seem too bad. Barbara was coughing, but that was typical for her. Whenever she got a cold, it settled in her chest. Allen had digestive issues, chills, fever, and fatigue. Neither could get a test for COVID-19, but they presumed they both had it.<\/p>\n<p>Then, their paths diverged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs dad got better, mom got worse,\u201d said their daughter, Rebecca Taggart, 33, who followed her mom into a helping profession. She\u2019s a special education teacher in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adams14.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adams 14 school district<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>By early April, Barbara knew she needed help. On April 7, she told Allen that she was struggling to breathe and something wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was the first time she was feeling scared. Our family is very, very close. We\u2019re always texting and talking,\u201d Rebecca said.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara went to her primary care provider at Boulder Internal Medicine. Dr. Bill Blanchet, in consultation with Barbara\u2019s regular provider, physician assistant, John Campbell, sent her straight to the hospital in Boulder.<\/p>\n<p>Allen couldn\u2019t take his wife inside.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI kissed her on the forehead on the sidewalk in front of the hospital and wondered if I would ever see her alive again,\u201d Allen recalled.<\/p>\n<p>As usual, Barbara provided reassurance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be OK,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, for many weeks, it was not.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>ECMO results in Colorado: dramatic lifesaving outcomes <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There were ups and downs throughout Barbara\u2019s treatment, but the ECMO ultimately worked and she is now part of a forthcoming research study showing that critically ill patients with the coronavirus can indeed do well on ECMO. Nearly all of the COVID-19 patients at UCH who have had ECMO have survived. Barbara\u2019s doctors will soon share their findings in a medical journal so other doctors dealing with spikes in cases of COVID-19 around the U.S. and elsewhere in the world can boost their survival rates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely incredible,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/breandan-sullivan-md-anesthesiology\/\">Dr. Breandan Sullivan<\/a>, another expert on Barbara\u2019s team.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s an anesthesiologist and an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) doctor. He\u2019s co-medical director of the cardiothoracic ICU where Barbara received ECMO. Sullivan is also one of the authors of the study and is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cumedicine.us\/providers\/anesthesiology\/breandan-sullivan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just gives us so much hope. I think it\u2019s not a matter of if, but when, we\u2019ll see another surge in Colorado. Because of Barbara and how well she did, we will be able to offer this treatment to others,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33107\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33107\" style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-33107\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17125213\/Dr.-Sullivan-headshot.webp\" alt=\"ECMO treatments for COVID - Dr. Breandan Sullivan headshot\" width=\"214\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17125213\/Dr.-Sullivan-headshot.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17125213\/Dr.-Sullivan-headshot-214x300.webp 214w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17125213\/Dr.-Sullivan-headshot-107x150.webp 107w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17125213\/Dr.-Sullivan-headshot-200x280.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33107\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Breandan Sullivan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What\u2019s remarkable is how different the results were in Colorado compared with other parts of the country and the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have had this dramatic life-saving experience,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n<p>He attributes the success with ECMO here to teams that were not overwhelmed and had the expertise, energy and perseverance to safely treat COVID-19 patients with ECMO.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also reserved this (treatment) for patients who had the greatest likelihood of success,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cSome patients have lungs that are scarred and will never recover.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, that wasn\u2019t the case with Barbara.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A new ECMO technique: \u2018proning\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When Barbara arrived at UCH, her team was trying something that they\u2019d never done with ECMO patients in the past. Around the world, doctors have learned that COVID-19 patients do better lying face down. In that position, gravity makes it easier for the lungs to exchange oxygen. The technique is called \u201cproning.\u201d But no one at UCH had ever tried it with patients on ECMO, which is already a complex procedure.<\/p>\n<p>Surgeons place the tubes, known as cannulas, into large veins or arteries. The ECMO pump then pulls blood without oxygen into the machine\u2019s artificial lung. The machine allows the patient\u2019s lungs to rest and adds oxygen to the blood, warming it before pumping it back into the person\u2019s body.<\/p>\n<p>Specially trained nurses, advance practice providers and doctors need to monitor the patient around the clock in case anything goes wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Flipping patients requires six people and adds additional risks. Nonetheless, the team gave it a shot. The team proned Barbara for 18 hours, then put her on her back for six, then flipped her to her belly again. They continued the proning maneuvers for several days.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>An urgent call for prayers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>At first, Barbara didn\u2019t seem to improve.<\/p>\n<p>By this time, Rebecca and her brother, Sam, 30, who lives in Nashville, Tenn., had both moved back in with their dad at their childhood home.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33097\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33097\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-33097\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121834\/Barbara-beat-covid-tiny.webp\" alt=\"well-wishers gather to welcome Barbara Gould home\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121834\/Barbara-beat-covid-tiny.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121834\/Barbara-beat-covid-tiny-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121834\/Barbara-beat-covid-tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121834\/Barbara-beat-covid-tiny-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33097\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">About 50 well-wishers gathered to welcome Barbara Gould home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>They\u2019d begin each day by getting a phone update from the morning nurse. Then in the afternoon, they\u2019d speak to Barbara\u2019s doctors. Just before bed, they\u2019d talk to the night nurses.<\/p>\n<p>They scoured the news for stories that gave them hope, like other patients who had been on ventilators for over a month and were surviving. They reached out to a friend\u2019s daughter, a doctor working at Massachusetts General Hospital, who could bring them up to speed on medical advancements. They learned to advocate for Barbara.<\/p>\n<p>Allen sent out daily updates to friends, who in turn shared them with many others.<\/p>\n<p>One update in early May followed some dispiriting news. Allen sent out a last call for help on May 5:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFriends, the doctor let us know today that Barbara\u2019s time on the ECMO has not helped her lungs as much as had been hoped. They will try a couple more interventions over the next few days to see if she can improve enough to get off the ECMO. However, if the lung compliance still hasn\u2019t improved, there will be nothing more they can do to save Barbara\u2019s life. Prayers and healing thoughts please. Time for a miracle,\u201d Allen wrote.<\/p>\n<p>At Barbara\u2019s synagogue, members were holding virtual prayer vigils. One gathering included 200 people. As news of Barbara\u2019s dire condition spread, so did prayers, from friends to friends of friends and from Colorado to Tennessee and Rhode Island.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33096\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33096\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-33096\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121806\/Signs-tiny.webp\" alt=\"COVID and ECMO - Welcome-home signs for Barbara Gould\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121806\/Signs-tiny.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121806\/Signs-tiny-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121806\/Signs-tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121806\/Signs-tiny-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33096\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Well-wishers brought signs to welcome Barbara Gould home after a long battle with COVID-19.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The palliative care team stepped in to offer more support. They wanted to know more about Barbara as a person. Along with travel and devoting herself to friends and her community, she and Allen loved music. Every morning, they sat together in the front room of their home where the sun spills in through the windows. They loved sipping their coffee and reading the news together on their iPads.<\/p>\n<p>Allen\u2019s hope when Barbara recovered was to enjoy this simple routine again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis sounds corny, but I just wanted to sit next to each other like we always have,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n<p>Music therapist, Angela Wibben, who works with the palliative care team, loaded some music on an iPad for Barbara to bring a taste of home to her. Then the family hatched a plan to provide music more often. Why not send Barbara\u2019s own iPad to her? Rebecca and Sam created a special \u201cBarbara\u2019s Recovery Playlist\u201d with all of their mom\u2019s favorite music so it could stream for her in her room. Thanks to nurses, the family also did multiple FaceTime visits.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Prayers answered and a safe landing<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Just a day after Allen sent out his urgent plea for prayers, a crazy thing happened. Barbara had a dramatic turnaround.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Maung Hlaing delivered the good news to Allen, Rebecca and Sam.<\/p>\n<p>Other patients on ECMO have had similar experiences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith Barbara and a bunch of others, we saw dramatic improvements, patients literally turning around overnight,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cOne day, we were telling the family, \u2018I don\u2019t think your family member is going to survive.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The next, they were delivering great news.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33098\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33098\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-33098\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121837\/Barbara-taking-a-walk-tiny.webp\" alt=\"COVID and ECMO - Barbara posing with family.\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121837\/Barbara-taking-a-walk-tiny.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121837\/Barbara-taking-a-walk-tiny-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121837\/Barbara-taking-a-walk-tiny-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121837\/Barbara-taking-a-walk-tiny-200x150.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33098\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">After returning home, Barbara has been enjoying short walks with her family. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Taggart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThis is one of the most remarkable recoveries we\u2019ve seen,\u201d Sullivan said of Barbara.<\/p>\n<p>The family took to calling Dr. Sullivan \u201cSully.\u201d Like Chelsey \u201cSully\u201d Sullenberger, the pilot who safely landed a doomed plane in the Hudson River, Dr. Sullivan and fellow caregivers were delivering Barbara to safety.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was an amazing team effort,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s now working with colleagues at Boulder Community Health and other hospitals that don\u2019t have ECMO programs. Sullivan and his team would like to offer the treatments as soon as possible to any COVID-19 patients whose lungs need a rest. UCH has the largest ECMO program in the Denver area, Sullivan said.<\/p>\n<p>After getting treated at UCH, Barbara received critical care at Kindred Hospital Aurora, a transitional center where caregivers helped wean her from the ventilator. Then, in a move that brought her nearly full circle, Barbara finished her inpatient treatments at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-rehabilitation-unit-broomfield-hospital\/\">UCHealth Broomfield Hospital\u2019s rehabilitation unit<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/new-inpatient-rehabilitation-unit-opens-today-at-uchealth-broomfield-hospital\/\">joint venture of UCHealth and Boulder Community Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible journey. This is someone who otherwise would not have made it,\u201d said Rove, the doctor who green-lighted Barbara\u2019s ECMO treatments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a long, long road. She really did all the work. I cannot emphasize how hard it is. These patients have to learn to sit up and walk again,\u201d she said. \u201cThe credit goes to Barbara herself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her family and her community also played a key role.<\/p>\n<p>Allen has always believed more in logic than the power of prayer. But, he finds himself in awe of his family\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know what to think. I do believe that the positive energy, prayer, good vibes and collective love found its way from many, many people who we don\u2019t even know to Barbara,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33102\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33102\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-33102\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121913\/Finish-line-tiny.webp\" alt=\"COVID and ECMO - Barbara drove across the finish line when she returned home.\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121913\/Finish-line-tiny.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121913\/Finish-line-tiny-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121913\/Finish-line-tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17121913\/Finish-line-tiny-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33102\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara Gould&#8217;s family surprised her with a welcome-home celebration, complete with a &#8220;finish-line&#8221; sign.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rebecca has marveled at how many people her mom has touched, who in turn, kept her alive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven in the darkest moments, I felt in my bones that she was going to be OK,\u201d Rebecca said. \u201cI want her at my wedding, at the birth of my children. I want her to have grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And Sam is so grateful to the team that cared for his mom that someday, when he and his wife, Amanda Capers, have children, they just might name one of them after Dr. Sullivan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe kept hope alive for us,\u201d Sam said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis whole experience has completely rattled my belief system. I\u2019ve never been a \u2018thoughts and prayers\u2019 kind of guy. To me, that\u2019s always felt a little empty, but the outpouring of love and hopeful prayer was unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And, he was stunned when his mom rebounded within a day after his dad put out a call for help.<\/p>\n<p>Says Sam:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s nothing short of a miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The welcome-home posters hung just over the wraparound front porch at the house in Boulder. \u201cWe love you higher than the sky, deeper than the sea, greater than the universe,\u201d said one sign. \u201cYou\u2019re home! You Rock!\u201d and \u201cBarbara beat COVID,\u201d said others. Colorful chalk on the sidewalk chronicled the remarkable journey: 65 days on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2123,"featured_media":33089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,7],"tags":[4859,4860,6839,7395],"class_list":["post-33076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-stories","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-ecmo","tag-uchealth-rehabilitation-broomfield"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ECMO treatments saved a Boulder woman with COVID - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Barbara Goud got a vicious case of COVID-19. 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She wasn&#039;t recovering well on a ventilator, then got ECMO treatments to give her lungs a rest.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-17T17:30:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-03T21:15:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/17111029\/Seated-smiling-tiny.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d43cd81d6f8e440a3e496f8a012c68e9\"},\"headline\":\"Boulder woman survives COVID-19 thanks to artificial lung treatments called ECMO\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-17T17:30:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-03T21:15:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":3109,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/17111029\\\/Seated-smiling-tiny.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"coronavirus\",\"COVID-19\",\"ecmo\",\"UCHealth Rehabilitation - Broomfield\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo\\\/\",\"name\":\"ECMO treatments saved a Boulder woman with COVID - UCHealth Today\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/boulder-woman-survives-covid-19-thanks-to-artificial-lung-treatments-called-ecmo\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/17111029\\\/Seated-smiling-tiny.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-17T17:30:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-03T21:15:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"Barbara Goud got a vicious case of COVID-19. 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