Speech-language pathologists help COVID-19 patients recover

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A speech pathologist on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic at UCHealth is sharing what it’s like for people recovering from the virus after being put on a ventilator.

"That breathing tube goes down the back of their throat, basically through their larynx and in between their vocal cords and eventually through the trachea to provide air to the lungs," says Ellie Johnson, a speech-language pathologist at UCHealth.

She sees patients for different reasons, but she mainly teaches patients how to speak and swallow again.

"Eighty to 90% is really working with patients in ICU and all around the hospital and it's more working with dysphagia, which is a medical term for difficulty swallowing," Johnson said.

She says being on a ventilator causes patients to lose the ability to do some basic things on their own.

"When that breathing tube comes out, their voice can be really weak, really hoarse, aphonic, which is loss of voice, and the swallowing problems that come with that," she said.

A patient's inability to get these vital functions back can be dangerous and in some cases, life-threatening.

"When food or liquid or secretion that has bacteria are going towards the airway and towards the lungs, if that gets into the lungs, it can cause pneumonia," Johnson explained.

She said recovering after being put on a ventilator varies from patient to patient and some can be in treatment for days, while others can take weeks to heal.