Gays resident Peggy Reynolds can’t recall much of a two-week hospitalization at Sarah Bush Lincoln.
Reflecting on the day she got sick, Peggy said, “This is all I remember: I didn’t know what I was talking about. I didn’t know what was coming out of my mouth.” Phone conversations she attempted were jumbled, and she felt queasy. When her husband, Gary, and daughter, Kyndall Fulk, got home from work, they knew right away that Peggy needed urgent medical attention.
“It was terrifying. She just wasn’t herself,” Kyndall recalled. “She couldn’t even remember my dog’s name, and I’ve had my dog for four years now.”
The SBL Emergency Room staff discovered that Peggy’s kidneys had shut down. Peggy, who had had four knee surgeries, was recovering from a knee replacement, so it is believed that the kidney failure resulted from an infection. Peggy also had an allergic reaction to the medications she was taking, and that added to her queasiness and deliriousness.
The SBL Nephrology team started dialysis treatments to save her. “The dialysis treatments immediately helped her, and that was such a relief to see,” Gary said. SBL staff also prescribed different antibiotics to Peggy.
While the dialysis treatments helped, Peggy still was not thinking clearly. In fact, during the first few days Peggy was hospitalized, she didn’t recognize her family.
“She couldn’t sit up by herself, and she couldn’t get out of bed,” Kyndall explained. “They tried to get some physical therapy started because of her knee, but she wasn’t responding to anyone. It was scary and sad.”
During the days when Peggy couldn’t respond for herself, Gary and Kyndall became Peggy’s voice. “It was probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through,” he added.
Peggy is eternally grateful that her husband and daughter were there to support her. “If they weren’t there, I don’t think I’d be here right now,” she said.
In total, Peggy received five rounds of inpatient kidney dialysis. As her stay continued, she became more cognizant of where she was and what was happening. Gary and Kyndall are very grateful for the support of the SBL staff.
Procedural Services Director Alex Boyer, RN, coordinates dialysis treatments. She continually checked on Peggy while she was hospitalized, and she continues to do so. Kyndall said that everyone in Nephrology and all the nurses who cared for Peggy were amazing. Nurses Lindsay Winkleblack and Lana Keigley were stand-outs.
Five months post-event, Peggy still gets emotional thinking about the situation. “I was scared. I was embarrassed. And I felt like I had lost my family,” she recalled. Kyndall and Gary were relieved when Peggy was discharged from Sarah Bush Lincoln, because they knew she had recovered fully. Not only were her kidneys better, but her knee had improved too.
For more information about SBL Nephrology services, call 217 238-4960.