ECMO Survivor

Twenty-six-year-old Sylvia LeBaron thought she was having an asthma attack in October 2025 and drove herself to the emergency department at Crouse.

But after being seen in the emergency department, she was quickly brought up to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where she spent about 18 days. For ten of those days, she was on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) – an advanced life support machine that takes over for the heart and lungs in critical care cases.

Sylvia doesn’t remember much of her stay at Crouse, but came back recently to thank the team who cared for her.

What is ECMO?
ECMO is used on critically ill patients that serves to give the heart and lungs “a break” while their body recovers. It works by drawing blood from the patient and artificially oxygenating red blood cells. At Crouse, ECMO is used in the ICU as well as our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to help patients in respiratory distress recover.

An Unexpected Stay
For Sylvia, an ICU stay, let alone on ECMO was not expected. Her husband and mom spent much of that time by her side.

“Fortunately, my job was very understanding that I wanted – and needed – to be here. It was definitely scary,” said her husband Jordan.

The team at Crouse supported Jordan as well as Sylvia, answering questions and giving updates.

One night, while Sylvia was on ECMO and it was a little quieter on the unit, Anna Carrino, RN and Leanna Putnam, RT, took the time to wash Sylvia’s hair.

“We washed it and combed it for her,” Leanna said, “I just wanted to do something nice.”

Waking Up in the ICU
After 10 days on ECMO, Sylvia woke up.

“I had no recollection of the last 10 days,” Sylvia said.

“She had to re-learn how to walk,” said Jess Parry, DPT.

It took baby steps, but with the help from Jess, one day Sylvia surprised her family by being seated in a chair when they came to visit, instead of the bed. That was a cause for celebration.

A bigger celebration came just a few days later on Halloween, when she was discharged from the hospital. It also happened to be Sylvia and Jordan’s wedding anniversary. Truly a day to remember for them.

Six Months Later
Now back to work at a new job and happy to be home with Jordan and their five dogs, Sylvia attends the monthly Crouse ICU Survivor Support Group. Talking to others and their families is meaningful for Sylvia, after what she went through.

And in late May, she came back to the ICU to thank the team who kept her alive and helped her get home.

With hugs, cards and a few tears shed, Sylvia expressed her gratitude to each person she spoke to.

“I am so grateful to be able to come back and visit and be on the other side of this,” Sylvia said to the care team. “And it’s really because of everyone at Crouse.”

Laurie Clark is the Director of Communications Crouse Health.