Critically ill Billings Clinic nurse with COVID 19 showing signs of recovery
Billings, MT - Ellen Edlund, a Billings Clinic nurse hospitalized in the ICU with serious complications from COVID-19, has turned a corner on her road to recovery. Hospitalized in late November and moved to the ICU a short time later, Ellen was placed on a ventilator and then an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine for life support.
Critically ill for much of that time, in the last 48 hours Ellen’s condition has improved to the point where she has been removed from the life-supporting ECMO technology and is now only intermittently supported by a ventilator. She is conscious and has had the opportunity to communicate with loved ones and ICU staff. Today, Ellen spoke words of love for her family and friends on video, and extended a thank you to everybody involved in her care.
On Monday, Ellen’s story made national news with an outpouring of support for Ellen and everyone struggling to recover from COVID-19 across our community and nation. The heartwarming responses show just how many lives this virus is affecting every day. Ellen remains in intensive care at Billings Clinic, but seeing these encouraging developments is inspiring and highlights how every member of the care team at Billings Clinic is helping patients fight COVID-19.
(Pictured: Ellen Edlund, RN in her ICU room at Billings Clinic on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020)
