My name is Debbie. I have worked at Brownwood Regional Medical Center (BRMC) for 7 years. I never thought that just showing up to work one day could save my life! With Thanksgiving at hand, I am thankful and wanted to share how my work family saved my life.
The morning of August 17th was like any other Thursday. I was getting ready for work and noticed a bit of heartburn; which is, a little unusual for me. I thought it must have been the coffee I drank earlier. Around 7:30 am as my husband Casey drove me to work, there was something on the radio that reminded me of what our Youth Pastor had mentioned at church the night before. He said, “You don’t have to preach to people, just tell them your story.” I said, “I don’t even HAVE a story!” Well to my surprise by the end of the day, God was going to give me the most amazing story to share!
As he dropped me off at work, I waved and walked into the hospital. Since he and I had only been married for 3 months, we often talked about how God has blessed us since we met. On that morning, I worked in the IV room mixing IV bags. I suddenly began feeling very warm and left the room to cool off. I struggled with finding relief and could not cool off. I began to have hot and cold sweats and felt very nauseous, dizzy and lightheaded. I laid down on the floor and began feeling my chest tighten. I said, “I think my chest hurts and it’s a little uncomfortable.” Our Pharmacist overheard me and said, “We need to get you to the ER.” I thought no, let me just lay here because I do not think I can walk to the ER. All this seemed to happen quickly, which was less than 10 minutes since I came out of the IV room. How could I become so ill so quickly? I am thankful my co-workers were persistent in taking me to the ER by wheelchair; however, it was difficult to get up and in to the wheelchair. Once in the chair, I reached for my phone and texted Casey that I was going to the ER, and asked him to come. As I was being pushed to the ER, I truly expected to be given fluids in the ER and sent home. I did not think this was serious. To my surprise, by the time I was wheeled to the ER, it was difficult for me to say my name and date of birth. I must commend Tana Still, in ER registration because she quickly had a wrist band on me and I was transported to an ER room.
The ER care team quickly realized what was happening. I never heard the words HEART ATTACK. Casey called me and I told him I was nauseous and they were evaluating me. The nurse asked me to put my phone down, so I told him goodbye. From that point on, I only remember bits and pieces, because I passed out. When I awoke, they had moved me to a Trauma room. I said, “Hey, I’m in a different room,” The nurse was humored with my remark; she laughed and said, “Yes, you are!” Thankfully, I did not know that while I was out, they were doing chest compressions and shocking my heart to keep it beating! The ER team of Dr. Brandon Gilmore and nurses, Ethel Cumpton, RN; Janis Partin, BSN and Leslie Eddy, RN kept my heart beating! I do remember briefly, being pushed down the long hallway but I was unaware they were taking me to the Cath Lab.
I became slightly conscious in the Cath Lab and I could see the Cath Team working around me. I was conscious enough to recognize all of them, but I still did not realize it was my heart! They told me they would need to place a stent. I was in and out of consciousness during the procedure. In the meantime, there were more chest compressions and shocks until the stent was in place and blood flow had returned to normal. Every time I awoke, they were still working around me, I tried to decide at one point if this was just a dream, but every time I awoke, they were still there. I then realized it was not a dream. I thought, oh, this is really serious! I told myself to not get upset and stay calm! I began to pray, “Thank-you Lord” over and over, because I knew they were working to save my life! At one point when I awoke, I remember just sensing their concern for me, I said out loud, “Y’all are awesome! I love you guys!” They were so focused, I wasn’t sure they heard me, so I said it again.
With the crisis at hand, it was happening at an accelerated speed. Casey arrived at the hospital and was told that I was still in my procedure and to have a seat. The Cardiologist, Dr. Sanjeev Ravipudi went to visit with him and brought him back to the Cath Lab. Dr. Ravipudi showed him the video of my procedure. My husband was completely shocked. He could not believe what he was seeing. It was the large left main artery, and it was 100% blocked. The realism to this story is that I had just survived a heart attack that is known as the “widow maker.” It is known as the “widow maker” because unless you catch in time the survival rate is not good.
After my successful stent placement, I was told later, that my heart had been shocked at least 17 times. I am so thankful for Dr. Ravipudi bringing his expertise and wealth of knowledge to the BRMC Heart Center and for saving my life! The Cardiac Care team has saved many lives over the last year and the community as a whole has truly benefitted.
As in my case, there is not always time to be transported to a larger facility for the lifesaving technique of stent placements. That morning proved to me that our ER and Cath Lab teams are wonderful! They are capable of taking care of so many situations such as mine.
This particular day brought so many blessings and I feel God had the entire morning planned for me. I’ve never experienced God’s perfect timing like this. On that day, he had me right where I needed to be to receive the best possible care from my own work family. They later told me that if I had arrived 5-10 minutes later to the ER that it may have proven to be too late for me. I am so thankful for all my co-workers stepping in on my behalf and just doing an exceptional job. They are a wonderful family. I know it’s difficult to provide invasive healthcare to one of your own family members, but it was definitely a comfort to me to wake up and see all the familiar faces working so hard to save my life!
I now love to tell my story. Many say my story reminds them that God is in control all the time! I believe he is because He had me in the right place at the right time. I am thankful for my pharmacy work family, ER work family and Cardiac Care Team because together they saved my life!
I think many of us are guilty of thinking, oh I am too young for that to happen to me, plus I really have not had any symptoms. The truth is, we are all vulnerable especially if we have a family history that has proven otherwise. My family member’s outcomes were not as fortunate as mine was on this day. My father and grandfather both died near my age of a massive heart attack. My brother also suffered from a 90% blocked artery in his early 40’s. Yes, I knew it was in my family, but I never followed through with a cardiac checkup because I never had symptoms or never felt bad. I am hopeful my story will make people consider the consequences. So, I am asking for you all to get those health check-ups that are so important. Please, don’t wait until it’s a crisis situation. I was one of the lucky ones and feel extremely blessed to work in a hospital with so many caring and professional co-workers.
That’s my story… I take pride and comfort in knowing we at BRMC have a wonderful hospital with wonderful services including the interventional cardiac program and the Cardiac Rehab Center. I am thankful and blessed to be alive and able to exercise with medical supervision in the Cardiac Rehab Center. The Center allows me to strengthen my heart since my episode. I can now share my story about my life experience.
