A Special Thank You to the ICU Team at Northwest Health: A Patient’s Story

4/2/2024

This past December, Ruth Johnston returned to the Northwest Health – Porter ICU to provide a holiday meal and a heartfelt thank you to the team that touched her life during an unexpected health scare that could have left her paralyzed.

“The doctors called what happened to me a fluke –and it changed my life in a blink of an eye,” said Ruth. “But thanks to the super smart doctors at Northwest Health who worked as a team to figure it out, I’m able to still walk today.”

Ruth’s health scare

“Looking back, I initially learned something was wrong when I spoke to my doctor after my annual blood work. During my telemedicine visit, she said my kidney numbers were off,” said Ruth. “But at the time I had just tested positive for COVID and was getting ready for finals, so even though I was feeling a bit rundown, I didn’t think much about it.”

That all changed the next day when Ruth developed a sharp, shooting pain down her right leg and fell down the stairs in her home.

“It happened several times. My leg would just give out,” said Ruth. “I dealt with it for a couple of days until I woke up in such pain that I told my husband I needed to get to the ER. I remember even falling down our front porch on the way to the hospital,” said Ruth.

Once in the ER at Northwest Health – Porter, physicians ordered a series of tests. Ruth was diagnosed with a kidney infection and admitted to the hospital for further testing.

“There were so many tests. They needed to rule out things like a stroke since I kept falling,” said Ruth. I remember I was in the ICU and in so much pain. They were doing all they could to ease my pain and kept bringing in more specialists to review my case. It took a while, but these super smart doctors figured it out.”

The infection in Ruth’s kidney had traveled to her spine, where it lodged and developed into an abscess. “I learned that I needed back surgery to remove the abscess. My neurosurgeon, Dr. Jonathan Hobbs explained that the abscess was in a very difficult location and intricately interwoven into the nerves of my spine,” said Ruth.

After surgery, Ruth had a long road to recovery. “It took about four months until I could walk on my own again,” said Ruth. “This experience totally changed my life and really taught me to never take your health for granted.”

Ruth shared that it also taught her the importance of being thankful and to acknowledge people who make a difference in your life.

“Everybody in the ICU touched me and made a difference in my life – the doctors, nurses, aides, the people who brought food - every one!” said Ruth. “I will always value each and every one of them today and always!”

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