“My Waldorf Astoria”

Martha Hotaling of Bushkill, Pa., made it to the altar because of life-saving care

At your service

Martha Hotaling (center) recently returned to LVHHN to give hugs of thanks to those who helped her beat a critical case of the flu. From left: Joan Schultes, R.N., Cory Black, Emily Peterson, M.D., and Matthew McCambridge, M.D.

Martha Hotaling of Bushkill thought she had bronchitis last January. But her fever worsened, she continued to sweat through her clothes, and then she passed out on the bathroom floor. Her three dogs woke her, and her fiancé (now husband) took her to the nearest hospital before she was flown to LVH–Cedar Crest by University MedEvac.

Hotaling, 26, had her first case of the flu, and it was worse than she could ever imagine. She stopped breathing, her organs shut down, and within 24 hours, she had 149 life-saving interventions, including a heart catheterization and kidney dialysis. Surgeons also performed fasciotomies—incisions on her arms and legs to release deadly pressure.

For two weeks, Hotaling was on life support. Her care team, including tele-intensivists who use sophisticated cameras and audio equipment to monitor intensive care patients at night, supported her while her body fought the infection. Hotaling rebuilt her strength and learned to walk again—motivated by her desire to walk down the aisle. She married husband Ken and is working again as a honeymoon concierge in the Poconos.

“Without this first-class care, I wouldn’t have made it,” Hotaling says. “I know hotels, and to me, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network is the Waldorf Astoria.”

Here's her care team and how they helped:

Joan Schultes, R.N., case manager
Schultes offered support to Hotaling and her parents, who were at the hospital almost around-the-clock. “They were frightened and had a lot of questions,” Schultes says. “We talked a lot about Martha’s wedding and her dogs.” The day Hotaling breathed on her own again, Schultes surprised her with wedding bells and a guestbook to celebrate.

Cory Black, physical therapy aide
Every other day, Black helped change the dressings that secured Hotaling’s incisions on her legs and arms to a machine that prevents infection. It was so painful Hotaling would shake, despite having pain relievers. “Cory rubbed my hand and joked that I was going to take the pain out on him,” Hotaling says. The two became close as she and Black talked about his plans to propose to his girlfriend. He attended Hotaling’s wedding.

Emily Peterson, M.D., surgical resident
It was an early Sunday morning when Peterson and other members of a surgical team were called to perform Hotaling’s fasciotomies. “We weren’t able to sedate her because her blood pressure was too low,” Peterson says. “I calmly told her what we were doing and that everything would be OK.” Hotaling’s case hit close to home for Peterson, who herself is 29. She, too, attended Hotaling’s wedding.

Matthew McCambridge, M.D., tele-intensivist
That’s what Hotaling’s mother, Martha Schikschneit, called tele-intensivists like McCambridge, who monitored her daughter in the ICU at night. From his “box” at a remote site, equipped with cameras and two-way audio, McCambridge alerted caregivers the night Hotaling stopped breathing and helped direct her life-saving treatments. “This new technology allows us to make more timely and accurate decisions for patients like Martha,” McCambridge says. “It also allows nurses to spend an additional hour (per 12-hour shift) at the bedside with patients.”

Eileen Palmer, R.N.
“She was hammered by the flu and needed such intensive care. Remarkably, she recovered well,” Palmer says. Hotaling remembers: “Eileen cared for me as if I was her child. When it seemed impossible to feel ‘girly’ while hooked to machines and a ventilator, she washed and brushed my hair. I’ll never forget that.”

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