In 1956, Margaret Pfrommer, a healthy teenager, became a quadriplegic with limited head control, no use of her upper extremities, no vital capacity. She used a wheelchair the rest of her 42 years.
When she was forced into a nursing home more than a decade later, Margaret’s frustration with her circumstances compelled her to become an advocate for herself and for all those with significant disabilities. She was one of the first to pilot a motorized wheelchair with a “sip-and-puff” mechanism. Her consultation and feedback were instrumental in developing the prototype and other technologies that allowed Margaret and many others with severe disabilities to live independently.
As a champion for improving patient care, Margaret served as president of the Coalition of the Physically Handicapped (COPH), chair of the Citizen’s Council, chair of the Illinois Delegation to the National White House Conference on Handicapped Individuals, chair of the board of directors of Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago, and was a member of the board of directors of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA).
Margaret also made it her mission to highlight the importance of the clinician and patient relationship. She emphasized understanding the patient and family perspective and respecting their knowledge. Her insistence that patients and clinicians collaborate to determine a most effective care management plan has proven invaluable to many chest medicine professionals.
Margaret died in 1998. Less than a year following her death, Dr. Allen I Goldberg, MD, MBA, Master FCCP, and Eveline A. M. Faure, MD, helped created the Margaret Pfrommer Memorial Lecture in Long-term Mechanical Ventilation. The memorial lecture is partially supported by generous gifts from CHEST and the CHEST Foundation, Post-Polio Health International, and numerous friends of the foundation.
Understanding the patient’s perspective was Margaret’s passion, and through these lectures, we are able to ensure that her legacy lives on for those who champion her effort and admire her dedication. To support the Margaret Pfrommer Memorial Lecture, go to chestnet.org/donate or call 224/521-9517.