Therapist born with one hand an inspiration in virus fight

NEW ORLEANS — Two years out of medical school, respiratory therapist Savannah Stuard is on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 in New Orleans, operating ventilator equipment or manually pumping air into patients’ lungs.

It’s challenging work under any circumstances. It’s even more complicated for Stuard, born without a left forearm.

“I don’t have two hands, only the one,” she said. “So I have to sit there and methodically think it out, what to touch next, what to put on my hand to make it as sterile as possible.”

Stuard, who works at Ochsner Medical Center, keeps the tip of her left arm covered with a glove secured by tape.

To prepare for close contact with patients, she practices procedures such as “bagging” — manually pumping air into a patient’s lungs — in a simulation room on a mannequin.

Stuard volunteers at foundations where she mentors young people with limb differences to show them how she learned to do things like tie her shoes, participate in gymnastics and other sports and learn karate.

She has also shared her experiences with patients she encounters who have lost limbs.

“They’ll say, ‘I lost my leg in a car accident, and you just give me so much hope,’” Stuard said. “That’s what I love to hear, and that’s what I strive (for): to help people to be better, because they see someone that has less and doing more, and it makes them feel like they can do more.”

Stuard’s story caught the attention of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who has undertaken charitable efforts to help frontline medical workers and provide health care in underserved communities in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Brees noted her efforts as part of his work with The Real Heroes Project, a collaboration involving 15 men’s and women’s sports leagues. Athletes who participate share personal thank-you messages to health care workers on social media.

“He wrote my name on the back of his jersey and said, ‘This is for you, the real hero,’ and he was just thanking me for what I was doing,” Stuard said. “To get recognized like that, it was really great and exciting.”

‘He wrote my name on the back of his jersey and said, “This is for you, the real hero,” and he was just thanking me for what I was doing.’ Savannah Stuard Respiratory therapist

GERALD HERBERT / ASSOCIATED PRESS Respiratory therapist Savannah Stuard, born with no left forearm, works at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. She’s on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19, operating ventilator equipment or manually pumping air into patients’ lungs.