Stepping Up to Help Other Patients

Walking down the hallway on the first floor of Lakeridge Health’s Whitby Hospital, you’ll hear patients lifting weights and the whirr of treadmills and stationary bicycles.

That’s where you’ll find John.

The Respiratory Rehabilitation Clinic at Lakeridge Health supports patients with a variety of lung diseases, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and people like John who may be waiting on a lung transplant. The program focuses on helping patients learn to control their breathing, manage their lung disease and exercise safely.

“We have a lot of different groups in here,” explains Michael Meyer, Physiotherapist. “We have groups that are made up of people who may not be associated with the transplant list and groups comprised of people who have had or will have a transplant.”

John is more active than many of the patients in the Respiratory Rehabilitation Clinic. Outside of his therapy days, he still bikes around his neighbourhood when he can, aiming to ride at least once a day. He does this while managing his rheumatoid arthritis and pulmonary fibrosis, a disease which nearly cost him his life two years ago.

“My rheumatoid arthritis has affected my lungs,” explains John. “I had a big flare-up inside. We went to the hospital in Toronto and they just booked me right in. That night, I had a big lung event, and my lungs just stopped working. They shut down.” John was moved to the ICU where he spent close to a month.

“At one point, they didn’t think he’d ever be able to live outside of a hospital,” recalls Marilyn, John’s wife. “Then he started getting better, and we thought, ‘Oh, he’s doing so well!’ and they said, ‘No, he’s got pulmonary fibrosis.’”

“But somehow, I got out,” John says with a laugh as he turns to Marilyn. “I survived. I got home and got up the stairs, and I was on full-time oxygen, and I kept getting better.”

When John left the hospital, the thought was that he needed to be fast-tracked for a lung transplant. “Many people who have a flare-up either have another flare-up and don’t survive, or they get progressively worse,” explains Marilyn. “We started the transplant process in May 2023. By the time we finished the process that fall, they noticed he was getting better. So, if he has another flare-up and survives, he may be able to be put on the list for a possible transplant at that time. But for him to stay part of the transplant program, he needs to be in rehab and therapy.”

John and Marilyn learned that his therapy would be taking place in Whitby. The opportunity to receive this specialized care just minutes from their house is significant. “If he couldn’t do his rehab here, he’d have to go downtown,” explains Marilyn.  The Clinic serves patients as far west as Toronto and as far east as Bobcaygeon.

“It’s quite moving to see everyone come in and try their best,” says John. “Some people here are on more oxygen than I was when I was in the Hospital.”

For years, the Clinic supported three groups of four people Monday through Friday. Then the opportunity emerged to enhance their footprint and gain them more space. That would mean the chance to support more patients. But the equipment needed to be secured first.

Inspired by their experience, John and Marilyn stepped up and funded the purchase of a new specialized treadmill for the program.

“I overheard them saying one day that we could be in the bigger room if we can get more equipment, but we may have to wait as new equipment wasn’t on the list,” John said. “I thought, ‘Well, I can help out so let’s do it.’ So I asked them what they needed and we got it.”

The new treadmill has allowed therapy groups to expand to six patients. Everyone at the Clinic is extremely grateful for John and Marilyn’s generosity.

“It’s amazing and incredibly thoughtful,” says Michael. “The rehab treadmills are more expensive than the ones you buy at a store, so it’s an incredible boost to the program. Only two per cent of people who need respiratory rehab actually get it, so it’s a very underserviced population. To be able to serve more patients and support the community is fantastic.”

John is proud to see the treadmill help many of the fellow patients he’s grown close with.

“I didn’t really do this for me. I don’t really use the treadmill that often,” John explains. “I use the bikes more because they work my knees and thighs. But I was using it the other day, and I noticed how advanced it really is. It’s very safe and other patients will certainly put it to good use.”

Either way, John will be getting plenty of steps in soon enough following the birth of the couple’s first grandbaby.

“Between the baby, his parents and her,” he says with a smile as he points to Marilyn, “they’re the only things that keep me going.”

Thank you to John and Marilyn for their support of the Respiratory Rehabilitation Clinic. To learn more about how you can support patient care at our hospitals, visit us at lhfoundation.ca.