Tammy Pool is grateful to her medical team after spending four days in the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Regina General Hospital when her husband, Ron, could not wake her one morning.

For years, Tammy had not felt well but she attributed her low energy, shortness of breath and dizziness to aging. Her vision was also affected and she often had severe headaches.

In August 2023, an exhausted Tammy asked her husband, Ron, to wake her the next morning and went to bed early. “Going to bed at 8 p.m. was unheard of for me, but walking from my kitchen to the bedroom, I had to stop because I was so tired,” says Tammy.

Ron was going fishing the next morning, but decided at the last minute to stay at home. When he tried to wake Tammy, she would not respond so he called 911. “Had he not been home, I would not be here,” says Tammy.

Unconscious, she was taken by ambulance to the emergency room where a bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machine helped her breathe. Tammy’s carbon dioxide levels were more than two-and-a-half times what is considered normal, which put her at risk for brain damage. “It was in the extreme of danger. I didn’t have much time left,” shares Tammy.

When Tammy finally regained consciousness, things were foggy. “I saw a bright light and several people looking at me. I thought maybe I had been in a car accident.”

It was not initially clear what was causing her condition. While in the intensive care unit (ICU), where she needed life-saving breathing equipment, a number of physicians, including respirology, cardiology and neurology specialists, ran several tests to diagnose her. They discovered at least three issues – severe sleep apnea, asthma and atrial fibrillation. Tammy says they all fall under a broader diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). “I’m not sure how long I had these issues, but they all peaked at once and that’s what happened that night.”

She recovered well enough during her 15 days in Regina’s General Hospital to go home. Today, she still sees specialists and her family physician every few months, uses a BiPAP machine at night and checks her oxygen levels regularly.

Tammy wants people to know she got the help she needed when she needed it because of the dedication of her medical team and the technology and equipment they had available at the Regina General Hospital. “I had such amazing treatment, from the emergency room, to the ICU, to the regular ward. Here is the bottom line. If you haven’t needed the hospitals so far, just know we all will. Thank you to everyone who supports Hospitals of Regina Foundation.”

“The equipment Tammy needed to help her breathe while she was cared for in our ICU was made possible by the generosity of our community,” says Lisa Green, senior vice-president, Hospitals of Regina Foundation. “This year, the Foundation is investing more than $250,000 in our emergency room and ICU to make sure our medical teams have the technology they need to provide life-saving care. We are happy we could provide the care Tammy needed, right here at home.”