[linn37]

I had an Uncle pass away this week . At home he showed all the classic symptoms of a heart attack and put off seeking help. By the time his wife called the ambulance and they arrived he had coded. I just can't help but think that if he had just agreed to be seen in the ED early on that he would still be here.

BTW for all you Dr's and nurses on board. I overheard his whole medical history of that day while riding on the elevator with them as I was moving around to do my collections. And no I did'nt repeat any of it to family. It ranged from what had happened in the ED,to where he was at now in the Cath Lab and his chances of making it.

[60Gunner]

Linn37, please allow me to give you my deepest condolensces for your loss. My heart goes out to you. I lost my mom to heart disease. It's awful.

[2Jedismom]

Whoa! Someone wasn't being very concerned with patient confidentiality!

I was a head trauma rehab nurse many years ago and with the Terri Schiavo case, it was tempting to talk about some of my experiences, but wouldn't for fear of revealing confidential information. I did that work 15 years ago.

[brazzaville]

Good morning.
I've always believed that if you can make it to the hospital you have a good chance of making it. I guess that isn't necessarily so.

Our local rural volunteer fire department had me on oxygen and a nitro under my tongue within 7 minutes of my wife calling 911. Ten minutes later they had me in the ER with several docs standing around watching the clot buster cocktail do it's job.

From onset of symptoms until I was stabilized was under 20 minutes, yet the event left me with a heart that functions at only 30% efficiency. I can't imagine the ER staff not seeing what was happening to this poor woman for the length of time it took to get to her.

A month ago my mom dropped in her tracks and was gone before help arrived. The ER would have done her no good, and maybe they couldn't have helped this woman either. They should have at least tried.

Michael Frazier