Luis Pagan moved to Fort Collins in 2005 with his significant other of 32 years and his two children. The 64-year-old loves woodworking, fixing electronics, hiking, and traveling.
One March day, Luis’s life dramatically changed when he began to feel weak and fell on the floor at home. Unable to get up, Luis was taken by ambulance to the acute care hospital. The day before, Luis had done a five-mile hike and felt fine.
It turned out that Luis had a knee infection which caused septic shock. Unfortunately, Luis experienced many complications during his initial hospitalization, including respiratory issues, blood clots, and renal failure.
Looking ahead to the next phase of his recovery, Luis spoke with Arba Boci, a clinical liaison at Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital (NCLTAH). Luis felt good about what they discussed and chose to transfer to NCLTAH.
“Everyone works together to help each other out,” Luis said about the NCLTAH, a critical care hospital. “It’s been such a great environment.”
Luis offered lots of praise for the NCLTAH staff, which significantly impacted him during his stay.
“I loved all the nurses, PCTs, and Dr. Pearson. They were incredible! Dr. Pearson was empathetic, compassionate, friendly, and always makes you feel like a friend and not just a patient. The CEO, Brenda Simon, was awesome and so personable. The PCTs, Dylan Seagren, Isaiah Parker, Erica Johnson, and Kamika Kieler, went above and beyond with caring for me. The nurses, Kelly Parkhouse and Katie Martin, have been great! They are so positive and have a great attitude. Amy Oestmann (OT) was incredible and helped me progress from having a lot of pain initially to getting more active.”
After several weeks, Luis transferred across campus to Northern Colorado Rehabilitation Hospital.
Luis saw his family grow close as a result of his hospitalization and is excited to return home to them soon. He is particularly excited to go out to eat, cook (he loves making international cuisine), and, most of all, get back to hiking with his significant other.
