Mother of 5 Survives After Being Deemed 'Sickest Person' in Hospital

In November 2025, Linda Doane, a 55-year-old mother of five, faced a harrowing medical crisis that tested her resilience. Doane, who was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 41, had been in remission since 2022. However, in May 2025, she caught pneumonia and was rushed to the hospital, where her condition quickly deteriorated.

Doane's doctors informed her family that she had a 50% chance of survival and that she was the "sickest person" in the hospital, with over 1,100 beds. She was placed on ECMO, a life-support machine that temporarily takes over the functions of the heart and lungs, and spent two weeks on the ventilator. Despite the grim prognosis, Doane's consistent exercise routine on a Tonal machine, which she had maintained for years, proved to be a crucial factor in her recovery.

After 42 days of being tied down and tube-fed, Doane began the arduous process of regaining her strength. She insisted on doing as much as she could for herself, climbing the stairs to her bedroom and ditching the walker and cane within two weeks. Within two months, Doane was back on the Tonal machine, and her remarkable progress left the healthcare workers who saved her life in awe.

Now, nearly six months later, Doane's care has returned to routine check-ins and minimal visits, and she continues to monitor her cancer closely. Her story serves as an inspiring testament to the power of determination, resilience, and the importance of maintaining physical fitness, even in the face of the most daunting challenges.