Zoie Tingstad
Things are getting better.
That much is certain as 2004 Coupeville High School grad Zoie Tingstad continues to recover from major surgery in a California hospital.
Tingstad, who has been working as a professional dancer in L.A., has been in the hospital for 10 days, suffering from a pleural effusion (a buildup of fluid between the layers of tissue that line the lungs and chest cavity) and pneumonia. It follows on the heels of an incident in 2006 when she battled a similar illness.
This time, she had thoracoscopic surgery Saturday and chest tubes were put in to drain fluid. She suffered a setback when the tubes were discovered to be clogged, which resulted in one of the odder experiences of her life.
“They realized they had been clogged, so, instead of the tubes being removed, they were unclogged through some massive suction,” Tingstad said. “Weird feeling! Painful…
“Hopefully, I’ll be out soon and hopefully this doesn’t happen again!,” she added. “Every day I hear ‘the chest tubes will come out tomorrow’.”
After recognizing a familiar pain in her chest, Tingstad had gone to her doctor for an x-ray. She was given some “Godzilla-cillin” and pain killers and sent home to rest, only to have the infection get worse later in the week.
Now, as she recovers from the surgery and faces a difficult road back to full recovery, she is extremely grateful for the many people — family, friends and strangers — who have reached out to her or sent prayers and positive thoughts her way.
“Thank you everybody! All the support means so much to me,” Tingstad said. “It’s the silver lining of the whole thing. Your thoughts mean a lot to me and make this whole thing a little easier to go through.
“I am happy to be getting the care I need, am eager to be healthy and am very touched to see so many people care about me,” she said. “I am hoping for the best so I can get back to work and dancing as soon as possible. I am hoping that sooner than later everything will even out and I will have a healthy body and be back on top.”
***You can send a personal message to her at zoie48@hotmail.com***
Coupeville Sports 