“Some days I can’t believe I’m here – I can’t believe this all happened,” shares Joni.
On April 25, 2021, Joni arrived to NHH’s Emergency Department with difficulty breathing and a positive test soon confirmed she had contracted COVID-19. She was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where she remembers asking her Respiratory Therapist how long she might be there. At the time, Joni was floored by the possibility of even a week-long stay – four months later and after multiple hospital transfers, she was finally able to return home.
A paramedic with Northumberland Paramedics for over 17 years, Joni is quite familiar with NHH. She was drawn to paramedicine with a desire to help others and she strives to always make people feel comfortable and cared for no matter the situation. Filling the role of the patient was not one she was familiar with.
As Joni’s condition worsened and the level of care needed increased, she was transferred first to a regional hospital, then to two different Toronto-based hospitals. She does not remember much from her first few days at NHH, or even over the next few months as she spent much of them in an induced coma, intubated and on life-support. She’s heard from her family it was a ‘day to day,’ and at times, ‘hour to hour’ battle and recognizes how scary it must have been for all of them. Finally, in July, she was transferred back to NHH where she spent close to a month recovering in an inpatient ward and doing rehabilitation and physiotherapy to improve her strength and relearn everyday tasks – from sitting up, to standing, and eventually taking steps.
“I was so happy to return home to the Hills,” remembers Joni, referring to NHH with an affectionate nickname. “I felt lucky to be able to do rehab in my own community, where my family could visit me without having to travel. I had a great care team – it didn’t matter how tired they were or what I needed, if I hit the call button, someone always showed up with a smile – everyone I interacted with was friendly and professional. All you really want when you’re in the hospital is to go home, but they helped make the best of the situation.”
In addition to the healthcare workers caring for Joni, she credits her family for getting her through and what stands out most through it all was their support. She and her husband, Tom, have three adult children, Katherine, Matthew, and Michael, and shortly before Joni became ill, Katherine had shared the news she was pregnant. Even while in an induced coma, her family video called her every day to cheer her on and encourage her to fight, and the calls kept coming once she was awake.
“I really can’t thank my family enough for being so devoted,” shares Joni. “It even went beyond my family to my co-workers, my friends, and my whole community. People who didn’t know me – some of them on my care team at NHH – shared they had heard my story and were pulling for me. There was just an outpouring of love that was really incredible.”
Today, Joni continues taking things day by day. She is still on home oxygen and has a walker to help her get around, but she is happy to be home with her family and excited to soon become a grandmother.
Joni’s story was featured in our 2021 Light Up a Life campaign.
