A Novel Surgical Technique Saves a Patient's Life

Danielle Abraham, 28 years old, was a healthy and active wife and mother of an 8 month old baby girl.

In October 2009 she contracted Swine Flu.

"I had a cough, a whole body shaking cough that just wouldn’t go away," Danielle says.

"So we went to the emergency room here in Buffalo, thinking they would treat her for a few days and we’ll be out. She had gotten so sick they sent her to the ICU unit and they had to induce her into a coma," says Danielle's husband Joe.

"The last thing I remember is being packed in ice," Danielle says.

"Day in and day out she was getting these fevers that would spike to 105. Then her right lung collapsed. Originally they told me, a couple days she’d be in a coma, now it’s stretched on for four weeks," says Joe.

After Danielle's left lung collapsed as well, the emergency room doctors in Buffalo decided that she needed a higher level of immediate care and had her transferred to the Cleveland Clinic. Danielle was transported by Cleveland Clinic's critical care transport team. Because of Danielle's condition from the four tubes placed in her chest, the critical care transport team was forced to stay at sea-level for the duration of the emergency flight.

"You know the place is remarkable, it’s not just a job to them, it’s a passion. It comes from the heart. I wish I knew every one of these people by their name because I would say thank you to each and every one of them."

Upon arrival, Danielle was treated by Dr. Sudish Murthy and his team of Thoracic surgeons.

On top of the swine flu, Danielle's lung tissue had been liquefied by the bacterial super infection. Danielle began to leak air from her lungs into her chest cavity itself due to holes that were eaten into her lung from the bacterial pneumonia.

"So we came up with an innovative technique. We collapsed the lining of her ribs onto her lung to act as, kind of putting a finger in the hole of a dike. We hadn’t actually tried this on someone who was this critically ill. It turned out that this really was her only option," says Dr. Murthy.

Danielle spent seven weeks in a coma and nearly three months total in the hospital, but the hardest part for her was the inability to see her daughter while in recovery.

"We had missed her first Halloween, her first Thanksgiving. You just want to say I miss you, I love you. Finally, I was able to go home, into an acute rehab to learn to walk again," says Danielle.

Knowing Christmas was days away, the social worker on Danielle's floor made arrangements for Danielle to be moved to a rehab facility near her home in Buffalo.

"She made it a priority to get this done. She cared enough to want to get me back home to Buffalo. I’ll never forget seeing my daughter for the first time. I think that was more special than when she was born. That’s a moment as a mom I’ll never forget. It’s cliche to use the word miracle, but what happened to us was a Christmas miracle," says Danielle.

"You know the place is remarkable, it’s not just a job to them, it’s a passion. It comes from the heart. I wish I knew everyone of these people by their name because I would say thank you to each and every one of them. And that means not only the doctors, the nurses, their support staff, the cleaners. They are there because they believe in what they do. I would love to say thank you for what they’ve given back to me. Thank you for giving me my wife back, the mother of my child. Here she is today, you know, 4 years later now. I‘m thankful that I still have this life that I live, and it’s a good one," says Joe.