It began with something she thought was a cold and left her
knocking on death’s door.
It began with something she thought was a cold and left her knocking on death’s door.
But a battle with a stealthy illness taught one Hollister family the meaning of life and in the meantime introduced them to another family they wouldn’t have met otherwise – the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA).The Hollister branch of the VNA, which provides services to patients who are homebound and need medical assistance, became well acquainted with 55-year-old Alicia Banuelos after a four-month-long health ordeal.
When Banuelos left her home in Watsonville in November to visit family in Jalisco, Mexico for the holidays, she had all the symptoms of a common cold that her doctors said would clear itself up.
“We would call to see how she was doing and she would tell us she was… going to all these festivities, but she was bedridden the entire time,” said Sonia Cahue, Banuelos’ daughter. “She was lying because she didn’t want to worry us.”
When her children, who reside in Watsonville and Hollister, discovered how bad the situation was in late December they immediately flew down to be at her side.
Doctors in Mexico diagnosed Banuelos as having lung cancer and gave her a very short time to live, but her family refused to let her go.
“When we got down there she looked like death itself – her eyes were popping out and she looked like a skeleton,” Cahue said. “She was seeing angels on the walls and we were like, ‘No, come back here, we need you – you can’t leave us now.'”
Banuelos was finally transported back to the states in mid-January, where she was taken to Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Doctors discovered she had a fungal infection in her lung called “invasive aspergillus” that had spread to many areas of her chest cavity.
A lengthy surgery ensued, during which two-thirds of Banuelos’ lung had to be removed, four ribs were extracted and a burst aorta almost sent her to her maker on the operating table, Cahue said.
“For two months we didn’t know if she was going to make it or not,” Cahue said. “But I think the whole family coming together showed her how much we need her.”
When she was released, her husband and four children decided she would stay in Hollister with one of her sons and Cahue would take a leave of her job in Aptos to take care of her full-time.
She was unable to move back to Watsonville because the doctors believed she had contracted the fungal infection from the excessive mold spores in the air and in her house, Cahue said.
At that time, doctors in San Francisco introduced Banuelos and her family to the Hollister chapter of the VNA.
“They’ve been great – anything I need I just call them up,” Cahue said. “If I need them they come… I don’t know what I would do without them.”
Since mid-April, the VNA has been working with Banuelos and her family to progressively improve her health by assisting with a tracheotomy for her breathing, administering strong medications for her fungal infection and various other services for her conditions resulting from her illness.
VNA physical therapist Nicholas Caputo has worked with Banuelos to become more ambulatory and hopes to decrease his visits as her health improves with each passing day.
“She’s a star, not us,” Caputo said.
One of the main reasons the VNA has been so effective in Banuelos’ case is because of her loved ones, he said.
“Family support is so critical to make home health care successful,” he said.
The local chapter of the VNA, which covers Hollister, King City, Salinas and Monterey, provides service to about 60 patients at one time, said VNA registered nurse Nancy Jahsman.
VNA provides nursing services including IVs, wound care, physical and occupational therapy, and countless others, but also helps terminally ill patients transition with hospice care. Funding for the help comes from a variety of sources including health insurance and private donations, but the organization never turns anyone in need away.
Being surrounded by their loved ones in the comforts of their own home is critical to the emotional health of patients in any state of ill-health, Jahsman said.
“I see so much healing at home,” Jahsman said. “And our goal is to keep patients safe in their own homes… by teaching caregivers how to take care of them.”
Cahue saw the biggest improvement in her mother’s health when she got out of the hospital and began receiving services from the VNA, she said.
“If it weren’t for us, I don’t think she’d be here,” she said. “She should have died several times… and since she’s been home she’s made so much progress.”
Erin Musgrave can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 336 or at
em*******@fr***********.com.
