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Massaponax resident Gil Wright chats with his wife, Randal, yesterday at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center. |
By DAN TELVOCK
The quick actions of Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center's cardiac catheterization lab and nursing staff saved the life of a 62-year-old man whose heart stopped in the emergency room parking lot.
Gil Wright went to run for a few miles Saturday before swimming at the community pool near his Massaponax-area home.
Wright walked home when he started to feel chest pains. He told his wife, Randal Wright, that he didn't think it was a heart attack, and she gave him aspirin. When the pain persisted, he asked his wife to take him to the emergency room.
At about 6:40 p.m. Saturday, Randal Wright got her husband to the HCA hospital, which opened this month.
"If this had happened where he was swimming, there is no way he would have survived," said Dr. Harish Chandra, the cardiologist who was on call when Gil Wright got to the hospital.
Brian Robertson, a 22-year-old emergency room technician, found Gil Wright unresponsive in the front passenger seat of the couple's SUV. Roberston called a Code Blue for the cardiac arrest patient and started CPR in the parking lot.
"I did compressions for roughly a couple of minutes before everyone else got out there," he said.
Gil Wright was then transported to the cardiac cath lab, where Chris Sullivan, Wendy Campbell, Rae Boardman, Ted Duford and Dr. Chandra were waiting. They were all on call.
Chandra said Gil Wright was in full cardiac arrest, which means no blood was flowing to the man's brain. Chandra said a balloon was inserted into the man's blocked artery to allow blood to flow freely.
Michelle Dunn, the nurse who manages the cardiac cath lab, said she is proud of her staff.
"They work well together as a team, and the doctor responded really fast," she said.
The national standard for getting a patient from the emergency room door to inserting a balloon into the blocked artery is 90 minutes. Dunn said her staff and the doctor finished in 77 minutes.
Allison Bouchillon, the couple's daughter, said she is amazed that her father is still alive. She said her dad is in good shape, has competed in triathlons and loves wind surfing.
Gil Wright, who is expected to be released this week, said hospital staff have treated him well.
"We appreciate everything they did, and they did a good job," he said.
Bouchillon said the doctor found that an artery was bent at almost 90 degrees around her father's heart, which allowed a blockage to build up. Doctors were not sure how his artery got bent, but the problem could have been there since birth, she said.
Bouchillon said the artery before the procedure looked like a thin pencil line. After the procedure, she said the artery was the size of her index finger.
"The fact that it happened here and Brian was so quick in his response and the cardiac team got here so quickly, it was all so fortunate for us," she said. "It was amazing how good his vitals were less than 12 hours later. The hospital staff did everything perfect, and because of that, he is doing great."
Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438
Email: dtelvock@freelancestar.com
