LaRose Karr, a 68-year-old retiree from Sterling, Colorado, has been married for 45 years and is a mother of four and grandmother of seven. She enjoys writing short stories and has been published in 17 compilation books. She also loves caring for her indoor plants and spending time with her family.

LaRose’s health journey took a serious turn when she required emergency heart surgery and spent 14 days in a coma. During her hospitalization, she experienced multiple complications, including respiratory failure that required a tracheostomy, pneumonia, and acute embolic strokes. She does not recall many details from her initial admission.

After her condition stabilized, LaRose’s family chose Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital (NCLTAH) because they wanted the best level of care for her complex medical needs. NCLTAH is nationally certified in Respiratory Failure by The Joint Commission, utilizing best practices and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for its patients.

When LaRose arrived at NCLTAH, she was extremely weak and unable to do much on her own, needing full assistance from two staff members for transfers and daily activities.

Under the guidance of the hospital’s interdisciplinary healthcare team, LaRose participated in physical, occupational, and speech therapy to rebuild her strength, improve mobility, and regain independence. Physical therapy focused on transfers and walking, occupational therapy addressed daily tasks, and speech therapy supported communication and swallowing.

“This hospital has great staff,” LaRose says. “The doctors are wonderful, the best in the world, and the nursing staff is so caring and hardworking.”

After 18 days of intensive care, LaRose made significant progress. She is now transferring with the assistance of one person and beginning to walk more using the parallel bars. She will be admitted next to Northern Colorado Rehabilitation Hospital (NCRH) for continued specialized rehabilitation. She’s looking forward to continuing to recover so she can return home to her family and her cat, Oreo. Her long-term goal is to write a short book about her medical experience during this time.