Candace Abramyk was 19 and in university when one eyelid started to droop. Within days, neurologists at Royal University Hospital (RUH) had a diagnosis: myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that weakens the muscles she uses to see, speak, swallow and walk.
Her condition flares without warning. An infection can trigger it. So can the wrong medication, which Candace learned during her first ICU admission, after a routine antibiotic left her unable to
move her legs or lift her arms. For a stretch of two to three years, she was in the ICU every six months.
A paramedic for nine years before her condition made the job too hard on her body, she is now a mother to a five-year-old daughter and a patient partner working with research teams helping to improve how critical care teams communicate with patients and families.
Candace never knows when the next admission will come. That’s the case for most ICU patients, who arrive in crisis and need the right care immediately.
Read more about the ICU Expansion.
Candace Abramyk during one of her stays in the intensive care unit (ICU) at RUH.
Candace Abramyk spends time with her daughter while in the ICU at RUH.
ICU patient Candace Abramyk now works as a patient partner to improve communication in the department.
