Suzy LaPage

When Barry Mohlman contracted COVID-19, it felt like a strong flu and took two full weeks to clear up. Then his wife, Suzy LaPage came down with symptoms. Unfortunately, the virus hit Suzy’s body with such force that she doesn’t remember much of it.

“She has a big memory void because of the lack of oxygen,” Barry said. “It was bad and then it got worse.”

Suzy’s initial tiredness soon became lethargy. She couldn’t walk upstairs to her bedroom, and she found it easier to breath when sleeping propped up in a recliner. Doctors prescribed antibiotics and inhalers, but nothing seemed to help. One night, when Barry went downstairs to check on her, he realized his wife needed immediate, emergency medical attention.

“I put a pulse oximeter on her and couldn’t pull 80. I knew her oxygen level needed to be at least at 90. I said, ‘Hun, we have to get you to the hospital!’ … but she didn’t move a muscle. She was in really bad shape,” Barry said.

Extreme care for extreme situations

After rushing Suzy to Brigham City Community Hospital, the emergency room physicians recognized that Suzy needed a more advanced and equipped facility, capable of treating Suzy’s severe condition. They sent her by ambulance to Ogden Regional Medical Center.

“We got really lucky that Ogden Regional Medical Center had a spot for me! They had talked about sending me all the way to Provo or Bountiful,” Suzy said. “This way we were only 45 minutes from home, and they gave me excellent care.”

Upon admittance, Suzy received the highest amount of heated, high-flow oxygen possible without intubation, but her oxygen levels continued waning. Suzy struggled for every breath, and by the next morning Suzy required intubation and critical care to survive.

“I was home and got a phone call from the hospital in the early morning — that’s a call you don’t want to get. They said she needed intubation. A bit later the nurse did a video call to me so I could see her before the procedure. That was so kind of the nurse. I missed the call, but she left a video message. Quite honestly, I thought that might be the last time I’d see her,” Barry said.

Combining healthcare with compassion

Suzy received monoclonal antibodies (laboratory-made antibodies to boost the immune system’s fighting power) at the time of intubation and was placed in the ICU in an induced coma.

“The care was phenomenally amazing in the ICU. Those people weren’t just providing care, they were caring for her. I felt the compassion from the nurses as I talked with them on the phone several times a day. I have a renewed enormous respect for our nurses! All it would take was for one ICU nurse to get complacent or distracted, and my wife’s outcome would have been different — but they were caring and careful about everything.” Barry said.

Due to visitor restrictions in the COVID-designated ICU, Barry stood outside Suzy’s window to get a glimpse of his ill wife. That’s when he observed the nurses’ above-and-beyond measures to ensure Suzy’s comfort.

“A wonderful nurse named Mallory put the phone by Suzy’s ear and had me talk to her while I stood at the window. She assured me that Suzy could hear me. One time while doing that, I heard music. Nurse Maylyn had put music on in the room for Suzy! I’m a musician; and music is very much a part of our lives, so that meant a lot to me,” Barry said.

For Suzy, the music stands as her sole memory from her COVID experience up to this point.

“I know I was in a coma, but I am certain I heard it. It was elevator music. I’m a massage therapist and that’s the type of music I put on for my clients,” Suzy said.

A breath of relief

It took a couple weeks, but the medical attention and extra support was just what Suzy’s body needed to rebound. One morning Barry’s phone rang with fantastic news.

“Mallory called and said, ‘Barry, your wife is breathing on her own now.’ I just lost it. I started crying from happiness,” Barry said.

Suzy still had an uphill climb ahead of her. COVID-19 had wiped out all her strength. She didn’t have enough physical stamina to take even a couple steps from her hospital bed toward the bathroom. So, after nearly 6 weeks at Ogden Regional Medical Center, Suzy transferred to the Ogden Regional Medical Center Acute Rehabilitation Center to continue her recovery. There she underwent 5 hours of therapy each day, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and respiratory therapy.

Three weeks after entering the rehab facility, Suzy returned home to her extremely grateful husband. She continued rebuilding and recovering at home. Just last week she walked a mile without resting and without any oxygen support!

“I need to somehow give way more than a ‘thank you’ to Ogden Regional Medical Center and all the staff, doctors and therapists who helped us. In addition to the nurses that I’ve mentioned I’d like to say thank you to Crystal and Marcia, they were absolutely a key players in my wife’s recovery. They saved the life of someone I love so much, and I have nothing but love for them too,” Barry said. “I say, ‘Take me to Ogden Regional Medical Center’ because they are real people who really care. They’re like our friends and neighbors who are there to help.”

Suzy agrees.

“If given a choice, I’d go to Ogden Regional Medical Center because of the staff. They give consistently good care. We can count on them being good to us!”