MARSHALL FOR YOUR HEALTH-DECEMBER 2025

Rehabilitation,
Resilience, and Renewal
SPECIAL AD SECTION
“Alone, you are
strong, but together,
you’ll be stronger
than ever!”
When her pulmonologist, Dr.
Ravi Chopra, first referred
Ruth Weeks for pulmonary
rehabilitation, her lung function
was just 19%. She arrived at
her evaluation appointment at
Marshall’s Placerville Pulmonary
Rehabilitation facility on October
26, 2024, in a wheelchair, unable
to walk or drive.
Ruth was determined to be able to
exercise to qualify for the double
lung transplant she was told she
needed. At the time, she did not
qualify for the life-saving procedure
because of her weight. With the
support of family and her medical
teams at Marshall and Stanford
Hospital, she persevered and was
soon able to build up her stamina,
using the rehabilitation clinic’s
NuStep exercise equipment for up
to 40 minutes without stopping.
Session after session, Ruth
increased her stamina as she
worked toward a goal of getting
out of the wheelchair and
reclaiming her independence. With
work, she was ultimately able to
walk more and even drive herself
to appointments.
On March 4, 2025 – just 129 days
after her pulmonary rehabilitation
evaluation – the call from Stanford
came; her new lungs were ready
for transplant. She was packed
and ready, but in a cruel twist,
when the donated lungs arrived
at Stanford, the transplant team
determined they were not up to
standard. Ruth left disappointed
but not discouraged.
The delay was only a matter of
days. Ruth received a successful
double lung transplant on March 8
at Stanford Hospital with her family
beside her. Following the surgery,
Ruth was relying on a ventilator
to breathe and was expected to
be unconscious for three weeks.
After only nine days, however, she
was able to leave the hospital. Her
resilience and the support of her
care network had paid off.
“It took about three days to adjust
to my new lungs once I was taken
off the ventilator,” Ruth said. “But
very quickly, I felt self-sufficient.
Talk about a breath of fresh air!”
Ruth returned to Marshall to
continue her rehabilitation, and
her lung function increased
to 80%. Just months after her
transplant, Ruth was able to climb
the 160 feet of stairs at the bluffto-beach
access point to Seal Cove
beach. She recently went on her
first camping trip in 12 years.
Ruth is especially grateful to her
daughter-in-law Georgia, who
was by her side throughout the
entire journey, and whose support
helped make everything seem
possible. She is looking forward
to enjoying her family, including
a 15th grandchild, and to getting
out and living the active lifestyle
her network of family and medical
partners has helped her achieve.
2 | FOR YOUR HEALTH | www.marshallmedical.org