Samuel Viera, Janice Nguyen and Flora Viera.Colin Dewar/Sinai Health
At the height of one of COVID-19′s earlier waves, Ontario found itself in the midst of another lockdown as cases surged across the country. Shipments of COVID-19 vaccines had started to trickle into Canada, but would not be widely available to much of the public for months. On Jan. 30, 2021, a group of anti-mask protesters marched through the streets of downtown Toronto, blocking traffic and demanding an end to what they said were unnecessary public-health restrictions.
On that same day, in a hospital room in a suburb north of the city, Janice Nguyen, 23 weeks pregnant with her first child, was preparing to be sedated and placed on a ventilator. Ms. Nguyen had tested positive for COVID-19 10 days earlier and her oxygen levels had dropped dangerously low.
Ms. Nguyen’s husband, Samuel Vieira, appeared on a Zoom call before she was intubated, the only way of communication because of pandemic visitor restrictions. He realized how serious the situation was and that there was a real possibility his wife would not survive. The moment was so traumatic that Mr. Vieira has difficulty speaking about it in any detail.
“I said ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be okay,’ ” Ms. Nguyen, who is now 35, recalled in a recent interview.
“We were just trying to comfort her,” Mr. Vieira added.
Ms. Nguyen was quickly transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. The hospital is a leader in treating complicated obstetrical cases, but Ms. Nguyen was one of its first cases of a pregnant patient severely ill with COVID-19. That day, Ms. Nguyen was one of 356 people in Ontario in an intensive care unit as a result of the coronavirus. She was one of the lucky individuals who survived the harrowing ordeal, which included nearly three weeks on a ventilator and more than four months in hospital.
Ms. Nguyen’s experience and long road to recovery is one example of the devastating toll COVID-19 has taken on tens of thousands of people in Canada. Months after mask mandates and vaccine passports have expired, she continues therapy and rehabilitation sessions to regain strength and improve mobility. Throughout the ordeal, Ms. Nguyen says her supportive family and members of her health care team, with whom she continues to stay in touch, helped her get through each day.
Ms. Nguyen’s experience and long road to recovery is one example of the devastating toll COVID-19 has taken on tens of thousands of people in Canada.Colin Dewar/Sinai Health
While it initially seemed unclear back in 2021 whether Ms. Nguyen would survive, she gradually improved and was able to come off of life support. It can take patients several days to resume speaking and regain mobility after being on a ventilator. But after days turned into weeks, Ms. Nguyen’s care team grew worried when she still wasn’t speaking or moving. A series of tests determined she had likely suffered a series of small strokes while she was on the ventilator. As a result, the only way Ms. Nguyen could communicate after she came off the ventilator was by moving her toes and blinking her eyes. Since she was unable to swallow, she also had a feeding tube.
“It was really scary because I couldn’t communicate what I needed,” she said.
At the same time, her pregnancy continued to develop and she delivered her and Mr. Vieira’s daughter, Flora Joy, on March 29 – premature but healthy. Ms. Nguyen was still mostly immobilized and unable to speak. Her many rehabilitation sessions in the months ahead, which included speech, occupational and physical therapy, would focus on helping her gain the strength necessary to hold and speak to her daughter.
“We are all humbled by COVID,” said Christie Lee, a critical care physician at Mount Sinai who treated Ms. Nguyen. “And appreciate the trust and the confidence that their family had in us to help take care of her.”
Ms. Nguyen’s case was challenging and unique in several respects. She was one of the first pregnant patients at the hospital to develop serious complications as a result of COVID-19, Dr. Lee said, meaning her care team didn’t have much of a playbook for her treatment. Multiple departments from Mount Sinai and affiliated rehabilitation hospital, Hennick Bridgepoint, had to work together to develop a treatment and recovery plan for Ms. Nguyen that would not only focus on her health, but on the fact she had a newborn baby who she needed to see.
“It wasn’t just mom, but baby as well,” said Rebecca Titman, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist who treated Ms. Nguyen for several weeks at Hennick Bridgepoint. “There was a lot of communication between the two sites, thinking about how Janice is going to be able to see her baby on a regular basis.”
Ms. Nguyen credits members of the health care team for going above and beyond, helping her arrange visits with her daughter, staying with her so she didn’t feel alone and ensuring flexibility to strict COVID-19 visitor policies to allow her family to be in the hospital with her.
“COVID is obviously real,” Mr. Vieira said. “Don’t underestimate what it can do.”
It was a terrifying ordeal, as no one knew how far Ms. Nguyen’s recovery would take her and whether she would be able to sit up on her own, feed herself or even hold her baby independently.
“It was a slow process and it was mentally exhausting,” Mr. Vieira said.
Janice Nguyen hugs speech-language pathologist Darcy Roza during a reunion with hospital staff.Colin Dewar/Sinai Health
In early June, 2021, Ms. Nguyen was strong enough to return home, but her rehabilitation continues to this day. Before she was discharged, both hospitals organized a Zoom call with people who helped care for Ms. Nguyen during her long stay.
“There was not a dry eye in the whole audience,” Dr. Titman said. “It was just amazing to see just how, as health care providers, we are all exhausted and just how much hope she brought to all of us. Seeing the impact of our care was really special.”
Ms. Nguyen still has to work hard to get back her strength and mobility, but she said she focuses on the many gains she’s made. She has ataxia, which affects her co-ordination and makes her shake involuntarily, and she still receives therapy to improve her strength and gait. Ms. Nguyen said she wants to be able to walk up the stairs carrying a load of laundry, an everyday task many take for granted. But she just has to look at her daughter to put everything in perspective.
“It’s enjoyable watching her grow,” she said, adding that the experience hasn’t deterred her from the idea of having a second child.
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Carly Weeks