Natalie Ficklin-Holliday
Natalie was found on the floor in a fit of seizures by her mother and son. They quickly called for an ambulance, which rushed her to Timpanogos Regional.
Take me to Timpanogos Regional Medical Center: They fight for you!
After undergoing weight loss surgery at a hospital outside the United States, Natalie Ficklin-Holliday couldn’t stomach food. She literally couldn’t eat without throwing up. The complications started a few weeks after the procedure and continued growing with intensity. During the next six months, Natalie lost 120 lbs., her body’s potassium levels dropped dangerously low, and her strength and health withered away.
“I was starving to death,” Natalie said. “At one point, after receiving another dose of potassium through an IV, my gastroenterologist prescribed IV vitamins and minerals for nutrition. Unfortunately, my body couldn’t handle it. I responded like the Holocaust survivors who were given food by the rescuing soldiers. Their poor bodies couldn’t adjust, and they went into cardiac arrest and died. That’s basically what happened to me.”
Timpanogos Regional Hospital team fights death
Natalie’s mother and son found Natalie on the floor in a fit of seizures. They called for an ambulance, which rushed her to Timpanogos Regional Hospital.
“During the course of that night, I went into cardiac arrest five times. My heart stopped. No blood flowed to my body. I died. They shocked my heart so many times with the defibrillators,” Natalie said. “They fight for you at Timpanogos Regional Hospital. They wouldn’t let me die.”
For 14 hours, doctors and nurses battled death for Natalie. She survived the night but remained in critical condition in the Cardiac ICU. Eventually she had an ICD implanted for her heart.
“A doctor told me about a new procedure he could perform to figure out what was wrong with my gastric system. He said if I had been at any other hospital in the region, he couldn’t have done the surgery because no other hospital in the area has the corresponding equipment,” Natalie explained.
Using cutting-edge, 3D imaging technology, the surgical team identified and repaired three complications from Natalie’s earlier weight loss surgery.
Life-saving care makes life-long impact
“Yes, they have the brightest and best technology that saved my life at Timpanogos Regional Hospital, but equally important is how the doctors and nurses took care of me as a person,” Natalie said. “They cared for me as a human being rather than a patient room number. I felt safe in a very scary time, and I was taken care of emotionally as well as medically.”
Nurses and doctors rallied around Natalie. They sat with her at night when she felt scared, eased her back into eating, and gave her hope for the future. That kind of compassion and care changed the way Natalie views and interacts with the world.
“They not only saved my life, but they changed everything about my life for good,” Natalie said. “They gave me a new life.”
Inspired to care
After a year of at-home recovery, Natalie grew in strength, inspiration and determination to change her life’s course.
“I got another chance at life — a chance to do better and serve people the way I had been served. I asked myself what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and I decided I wanted to work at Timpanogos Regional Hospital. In fact, it was the only place I wanted to be, and those were the only people I wanted to work with,” Natalie said.
During the global pandemic’s height, Natalie served as a frontline coronavirus screener at Timpanogos Regional Hospital. She delivered compassion as well as COVID tests.
Today she works as a Patient Advocate. She loves interacting with patients and employees at Timpanogos Regional Hospital.