Jun 18, 2020 Reporting from Niles, MI
A Vital Part of the Journey - Jim Landman
https://www.spectrumhealthlakeland.org/how-we-compare/our-patients/Detail/a-vital-part-of-the-journey/?utm_source=A_Vital_Part_of_the_Journey_&utm_medium=PatientStory_Landing&utm_campaign=InternalPages
Jun 18, 2020
Jun 18, 2020
SpectrumHealth Lakeland
What 79-year-old, Jim Landman, thought was a minor infection turned out to be a potentially life-threatening illness. He credits the care he received at Spectrum Health Lakeland as nothing short of a miracle.
Jim, a retired Sister Lakes resident, wa
A Vital Part of the Journey - Jim Landman
SpectrumHealth Lakeland
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A Vital Part of the Journey - Jim Landman
Jun, 2020
Physicians: Abby Schindler, DO; John Stafford, MD
What 79-year-old, Jim Landman, thought was a minor infection turned out to be a potentially life-threatening illness. He credits the care he received at Spectrum Health Lakeland as nothing short of a miracle.
Jim, a retired Sister Lakes resident, was experiencing pain and difficultly while urinating. He scheduled an appointment with his primary care provider, John Stafford, MD. Suspecting a urinary tract infection, Dr. Stafford prescribed Jim an antibiotic and he returned home.
However, later that evening things took a turn for the worse. Jim’s hands and arms began shaking uncontrollably. His wife called 9-1-1 and Jim was transported by ambulance to the emergency department at Lakeland Medical Center in St. Joseph. While there, his care team confirmed the diagnosis of a bladder infection and prescribed a stronger antibiotic. Due to the severity of his infection and his high fever, Jim would need to be admitted overnight.
“I remember Dr. Abby Schindler looking at me and saying, ‘you really need to be here,’” said Jim. “Because of her confident tone and choice of words as she spoke, I knew I was in the best of care. Dr. Schindler also spoke with my wife and provided her with complete assurance that she could return home and would be kept informed of my progress.”
Since he was at the hospital amid the COVID-19 pandemic, providers took extra precautions until he could be tested for the virus. Because of current visitor restrictions in place, Jim's wife, Lillian, was not permitted to be with him.
“I was in the hospital in July 2019 for numbness in my face and it was a whole different experience this time around,” said Jim. “I knew everyone was doing what they had to for my safety during this crisis. The nurses and doctors almost became like my family—they really stepped up to fill that lonely feeling without my loved ones by my side.”
During the early morning hours Jim’s blood pressure dropped drastically. His body was going into septic shock—a life threatening dysfunction of organs in response to an overwhelming infection. He would need to have a tube inserted in his neck that would provide direct access to the heart to deliver life-saving medication.
The procedure was performed in the intensive care unit. A short while later, Jim received a second COVID-19 test which came back negative allowing him to recover in a standard inpatient unit where he spent the next two nights.
“Everyone who cared for me was very reassuring in the way they spoke to me,” said Jim. “They helped me understand how my body was progressing and what numbers to look for in terms of my blood pressure and other vitals. It was a very educational experience.”
The medications Jim was administered healed the infection and he was able to return home four nights after he first arrived at the hospital. He continues to gain back his strength and can work in his yard once again.
“While I believe God is in control, that does not minimize the fact that the procedures and decisions made by the hospital personnel are a vital part of the journey,” said Jim. “I am so thankful for everyone at Lakeland who cares, and I mean really cares, for the patients they treat.”