Nancy Clark spent 14 days in the hospital, six of those on a ventilator. More than a few times, her husband of 30 years assumed she wasn’t going to make it – Nancy had several underlying medical conditions. And yet, two weeks after she was rushed to the emergency room, Nancy left the facility smiling, crying, and surrounded by the very nurses and doctors who saved her life. “God had another plan,” Nancy told Denver’s NBC News affiliate just hours before leaving the hospital. “I feel very fortunate; these people saved my life.”
Days earlier, inside the hospital’s intensive care unit, registered nurse and house supervisor Jane Harris was able to administer a spiritual power pill of sorts. With the help of the ICU team of caregivers, Jane facilitated a way for Nancy’s husband Thom to communicate with his wife through an exterior window and cell phones, “He just kept saying I love you, I love you, stay strong.” Being on a ventilator, and in-and-out of consciousness, Thom wasn’t sure Nancy was hearing him - but to everyone’s surprise, she opened her eyes. Jane says, “Thom got very excited, nudging my side saying, ‘Did you see that? She’s going to be OK.’” Thom went on to encourage his wife, saying you’re going to make it, stay strong, and I need you. Jane adds, “I knew facilitating a way to communicate would help Thom, but I didn’t realize how it would also impact our patient.” Back inside the ICU nurses mentioned to Jane whatever she did worked, Nancy was the most active they’d seen her in days. Jane says, “I’m amazed by the impact – our patients need this, the power of faith, love and family is amazing.”
Among neighborhood friends, many told NBC news they thought of Nancy often while she was in the hospital, and one relayed she feared she would never see her friend return home. Another told the reporter, she did a lot of praying. With his wife now well on her road to recovery, Thom says simply, “I’m just glad she’s home.”
