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Getting to Know You
While this Lakewood resident has bravely faced multiple ailments and afflictions,
it’s Ocean Medical Center — her hospital of choice — that has enjoyed having
her friendly face around all these years.
Mona Hudson, 54, of Lakewood
smiles coyly when she says that
she knows people in every department
of Ocean Medical Center. Her
exaggeration of fact is only slight;
her exaggeration of spirit is abundant.
"I’ve been a patient in almost every
department, and so I have ‘friends’
throughout the hospital," she says.
This cheerful retired veteran of the
United States Air Force has a multitude
of health conditions for which she’s
turned to Ocean Medical Center. "This
hospital has always been here for me,"
Mona continues. "I have had such great
doctors and nurses, and I’ve gotten to
know many of them as if they were
family — even people who work in
the café and at the front desk. They
all have special meaning to me."
Building a Personal Relationship
Community hospitals like Ocean Medical
Center often care for community
members throughout the course of
a lifetime. Mona is a terrific example
of this. Mother to two grown children
and now grandmother to two boys,
she has spent nearly 15 years under
the care of various specialists at Ocean
Medical Center who have ably met
her changing health needs.
She’s had two successful kidney
transplants and is awaiting a third;
two hip replacements; metabolic bone
disease; vascular disease; resistant high
blood pressure; seizures; anemia; and
other complications. She’s been rushed
to Ocean Medical Center’s Emergency
Department on more than one
occasion; she’s recovered from two
separate comas on the Intensive Care
Unit; she’s had repeat visits to Ocean Medical Center’s surgical suites; and
she has received rehabilitation therapy
as both an inpatient and an outpatient.
Most recently, in the midst of living
with kidney failure, Mona has found
herself spending close to 10 hours each
week with her self-described "friends"
as an outpatient at the hospital’s
Dialysis Center.
Her presence at Ocean Medical
Center certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed.
As Theodore G. Zaleski, M.D., boardcertified
orthopedic surgeon, says, having
gotten to know Mona after performing
both of her hip replacement surgeries,
"She is an extraordinary woman with
an extraordinary story. She has done
extremely well — especially in the
Dialysis Center — given the complexity
of her health conditions, which is a credit
to both her tenacity and the expert
medical care our hospital delivers."
A Smile for Everyone
Mona’s kidney failure
is attributed to years
of resistant high blood
pressure. "Dialysis is
an ongoing treatment
during which a dialysis
machine acts as an
artificial kidney,
circulating, cleaning,
and filtering blood
outside of the body
and then returning it
to the patient," explains
Joseph J. Albanese, D.O.,
a nephrologist on staff at
Ocean Medical Center.
He’s provided care to Mona for more than a decade and so
is very familiar with her case. "Mona
is one of those people who light up
a room," he offers. "She’s always ready
with quick conversation, a smile, and
a laugh."
The Ocean Medical Center staff
clearly feels fortunate to have Mona
around to lighten their days, and yet
it’s Mona who stresses her own good
fortune, despite all the health issues
she’s had to deal with: "I’ve gotten
nothing short of the best care in the
world here," she says with that special
smile of hers.
And no one can help smiling back
when she jokes with the dialysis staff
and regularly prompts fellow patients
to join in on the conversation as
they receive treatment. "I have to
stay positive, have to make the best
of every day," she declares. "I make
the decision to enjoy myself."
 – Lynne Nouvel
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