The INTEGRIS Health Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Team hosted a special ECMO Survivors Celebration recently at the INTEGRIS Health Baptist Medical Center.
The INTEGRIS Health Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Team hosted a special ECMO Survivors Celebration recently at the INTEGRIS Health Baptist Medical Center.
The celebration began with a welcome and opening prayer, followed by remarks from Robert Schoaps, M.D., and Michael Brewer, D.O., who spoke about the dedication and teamwork that define the ECMO program and the joy of seeing patients return to celebrate their recovery. “We are grateful for the collaboration with hospitals across the state who trust our ECMO program to provide critically ill patients with a fighting chance at life,” says Brewer. “It’s a privilege to be part of a network that puts patients first.”
The event brought together ECMO survivors, their families and many of the medical professionals who cared for them during some of the most critical moments of their lives. Survivors shared powerful stories of resilience and gratitude, highlighting the profound impact of the ECMO program on patients across Oklahoma. Click here to watch a special video from the event.
"An event like this allows me to see the people that cared for me at my darkest hour. I get to see and interact with the professionals that saved my life," said Jason Edwards, an ECMO survivor. "The teams from the burn center, ECMO and cardiac, they all came together to work on me. I don't know that I'm anybody, but to somebody, I'm everything."
ECMO is a highly specialized life-support treatment that provides prolonged cardiac and respiratory support to patients whose heart and lungs are unable to function properly. The INTEGRIS Health ECMO Team, based within the INTEGRIS Health Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute, continues to provide 24/7 care for some of the sickest patients in the region, utilizing state-of-the-art equipment and a dedicated team to deliver world-class critical care.
