Yale (Yoel) R. Smith MD Story

In late 2015, I received a call from my eldest family member telling me my mother was very ill and hospitalized. At the time, I was living and working in Israel as a Senior Consultant Anesthesiologist at Rambam Medical Center, the highest level of anesthesiologist within the hospital system in Northern Israel.

I had been offered several opportunities at different hospitals, including a position as Chairman of Anesthesiology at a boutique hospital where I would help train resident physicians. My goal was to accept that role. But my mother’s health, family pressures, and being the only physician son brought me back to the United States to oversee her care—ending my plans of returning to life as an anesthesiologist in Israel.

To support myself financially, I took a hospital position while my mother recovered and I planned a return overseas. During that time, a younger anesthesiologist—recently back from international travel—coughed directly in my face three times. Several weeks later, I became ill.

I continued working long hours in the operating room, but my condition worsened. I became confused and disoriented and was rushed to the local hospital where I had previously performed cardiac anesthesiology. There, I was diagnosed with pneumonia and admitted for treatment.

I have little memory of what followed. I was in a coma for six to seven weeks and suffered two cardiac events that required resuscitation. I eventually woke up and spent the next three years in therapy—rebuilding my body and my life.

Although I recovered, I continue to experience an uncontrollable cough and fatigue due to the loss of function in the lower lobes of my lungs.

My physician at National Jewish Health—widely regarded as a leading pulmonary hospital in the United States—told me it was a miracle I survived. My illness involved ARDS, two cardiac arrests, multi-organ system failure, and critical illness neuromyopathy.

Today, I use the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the last 38 years—along with what I learn daily—to help patients uncover root causes and recover from conditions that could otherwise become catastrophic.