Merrilee布朗 never sought anything in return for her longtime philanthropic support of Altru, but she ended up receiving something priceless: lifesaving care that gave her more time with the people she loves.
一位61岁的大福克斯本地人, 半退休的建筑商, 经常旅行的人, Merrilee布朗 has supported Altru in a variety of ways over the years, 包括在 奥特鲁健康基金会 董事会. She learned a long time ago the value of supporting local healthcare.
“I started thinking about donating around the time my father passed away,” Merrilee says. “If you can make your hospital and community better, you know somebody close to you is going to benefit from it.”
That certainly proved true for Merrilee last fall. 她在大天空的一个房子里工作, 蒙大拿, 九月底, 当她开始出现不适症状时.
“There were times when I thought, my chest kind of hurts … that’s weird,” Merrilee says. “Discomfort would bother me between my shoulder blades and in my back. If I exerted myself enough, I felt pain in my lower jaw. I’d heard of jaw pain as a heart attack symptom, and I thought right away something might be going on with my heart.”
Merrilee flew to Las Vegas and joined her husband, Randy, at their home there. Just walking through the airport made her fatigued. 疼痛打断了她的睡眠. The next day, Merrilee went to a local medical center. 经过一系列测试之后, she went home with assurances that the results were fine and a possible diagnosis of acid reflux.
In the ensuing days, Merrilee’s symptoms continued intermittently. She stayed in close contact with her brother-in-law, 在大福克斯当医生, 谁不排除她的心脏有问题. He advised that she return to Grand Forks as soon as possible to be evaluated at Altru.
家乡的帮助
Merrilee returned to 蒙大拿 before continuing on to her family ranch in Western North Dakota the next day. 与此同时，症状时断时续. The turning point came one mid-October night when Merrilee and Randy were back at home in Grand Forks. She woke up just after midnight and knew right away the symptoms she was experiencing were different.
“I woke up having the heart attack that would not quit,” Merrilee says. “After about 20 minutes, I was starting to shake. It was the same pain I’d had before, but just stronger, and it wouldn’t stop. By the time Randy woke up and asked if I was OK, I was crying and just trying to breathe. He flew out of bed, dressed in seconds, and helped me get out the door.”
当布朗一家到达奥特鲁时 急诊科 team took an electrocardiogram of her heart and gave her medication to thin her blood. After reviewing Merrilee’s electrocardiogram results and talking with her about her symptoms, 她的心脏病医生给她做了血管造影, a cardiac catheterization procedure that would allow him to locate any blockages in her heart’s arteries. 梅里丽松了一口气. Almanaseer有一个计划.
Within 15 minutes of arriving at Altru, Merrilee had an angiogram. 在手术过程中. Almanaseer found a 99% blockage in Merrilee’s left anterior descending artery, 是哪个将血液输送到心脏前部. He placed a stent at the site of the blockage to restore blood flow. 梅里丽在整个过程中都是清醒的.
“Within four or five minutes after the team placed the catheter in an artery at the top of my leg, 一个护士凑过来对我说, “我们找到了问题所在. 我们正在修理它.’ I thought, wow, this seems so simple, and I put up with this for 14 days?”
Once the stent was in, Merrilee felt an instant change.
“我能感觉到压力消失了，”她说. “所有的血液又开始流动了.”
任重道远
第二天，梅里回到家，感觉好多了, which also describes how she’s felt since the procedure.
“上帝对我另有安排，”她说. “显然，我还没说完. 我不知道我为什么能幸免，但我来了.”
Merrilee is concerned about the possibility of having another heart attack, 但她正在采取措施防止这种情况发生. She takes medications to help safeguard her heart, as recommended by her doctor. She has cut back on sugar and is eating more heart-healthy foods. Running and hiking aren’t for her, but she has a newfound passion for pickleball.
梅丽很感激她得到的照顾. She wanted to hug each member of the cath lab team after her procedure, but she had to lie still for several hours to allow the access artery to heal. 几周后，她实现了部分愿望.
我给了博士. Almanaseer a hug when I saw him for an appointment,” Merrilee says. “我说，‘我告诉过你我要拥抱你.’ I thanked him, and he just kept saying, ‘It’s my job.’ That’s true, but not everyone is as good at their job as he is. He’s a good, caring person who does his job well. We’re very lucky to have high-quality cardiac services and specialists of Dr. Almanaseer在Altru的能力.”
Altru的心 & 血管服务 teams use advanced technology to bring world-class care to our region. 欲知详情，请浏览 beautylifeclub.com/heart.
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