Critical Care at a Critical Time

Some might call it a miracle. Others may say it is fate. In reality, it was a matter of timing, teamwork and dedication.

On the morning of Feb. 6, a major snowstorm blanketed Southern Maryland, prompting vascular surgeon Dr. John Harvey to get an early start on clearing his driveway. Enough snow had already fallen that he could hear the trees creaking from the weight and the wind.

Meanwhile, James Dean had arrived at the St. Mary's Hospital Emergency Department. James woke up in the wee hours of the morning with what he thought was the flu. "I had all the typical flu symptoms," he said. "Usually, after getting sick, your stomach feels a bit better. But, mine kept feeling worse." By 7 a.m., he knew it was something more serious. So serious, in fact, that he woke up his wife, Patricia, and said, "Take me to the hospital."

"I didn't know what it could be," said Patricia. "I thought it was a virus, but then why did he have such terrible pain in his back as well as his stomach?"

Patricia said she never paused to think about how they were going to make it to St. Mary's through the blizzard. Somehow she managed to drive the old five-speed vehicle even though she hadn't driven a manual transmission car in a long, long time, much less a five-speed. If she had paused to think about it, she said she would have talked herself out of driving and that would have cost precious time. James said he was glad he'd "brought the old thing up to the door earlier because I knew the storm was coming."

The weather played a major role in what happened next. Within a matter of minutes, James was diagnosed with a ruptured aneurism, which is a blood-filled bulge in an artery that burst, and was bleeding into his stomach and required surgery. He couldn't be airlifted to Washington Hospital Center because the emergency helicopters were grounded due to the severe weather. Patricia was told in no uncertain terms that his chances of survival were slim, merely 25%. The surgery is complicated and difficult, and post-surgery complications could arise. A call was placed to a vascular surgeon.

Answering the Call

Dr. Harvey wasn't on call that day. He always kept his phone with him, but for some unknown reason that morning he'd left it inside and didn't hear it ring. His wife motioned him inside to take the call. The surgeon was standing in his garage and had just answered the call when he saw a tree fall exactly where he'd been standing only a moment before. "It was very lucky that the phone rang and I didn't have it on me," said Dr. Harvey. "Imagine if that call had been another minute or two later."

The surgeon had barely enough room to maneuver his truck around the tree and down the driveway. His street had just been plowed, so he had access out of his neighborhood.

Upon his arrival at the hospital, Dr. Harvey learned that the operating room (OR) nurses had prepped the OR for surgery, even though their shift had ended. The nurses' departure had been delayed by the storm. "There couldn't have been a successful outcome if we didn't have a full team," said Dr. Harvey. "Everyone has to pull together in these circumstances."

Patricia also credits the volunteers who drove to get additional blood platelets for James. "Our daughter and one of the nurses matched my husband's blood type and could donate," she said. "But they needed more platelets, so volunteer drivers with four-wheel vehicles made the trip to Baltimore and elsewhere."

Responding to a Need

One set of volunteers was dispatched to the Red Cross in Baltimore to pick up blood platelets. Lorie Shorback, a nurse in St. Mary's Hospital's Intensive Care Center, had the day off that Saturday when she answered a call from her supervisor in search of a nurse and a four-wheel driver who could make the trip to Baltimore. Lorie's husband, Buddy, was about a quarter of a mile away trying to clear out their driveway so they could have access. While he was doing that, Lorie tried to think of people who might also volunteer and made some additional calls. She has served as a weather emergency volunteer at the hospital for about four years. When her husband walked in the door, she explained the situation and they got moving. "It felt like the right thing to do," said Lorie.

The Shorbacks crisscrossed to Baltimore via back roads because the major ones were clogged with accidents and traffic. "We simply kept changing directions and routes to make progress," said Buddy. "It was no major feat; (it) just took time."

Bob Parsley was another volunteer who answered a call for help. "When I made the trip up to Civista, it was at the peak of high winds and dry snow," he said. "Down here on (Route) 235 wasn't bad, but about 10 inches had piled up along Route 6, so I was making tracks as I drove through." Bob got in his Ford Explorer, said a prayer and drove to Civista. "I'd had colon cancer about five years ago and the folks at St. Mary's took great care of me, so I wanted to give something back."

A Perfect Chain

Everything fell into place and each individual link in the chain of events was forged. The patient's surgery was successful. Dr. Harvey stayed overnight at the hospital in a room close to James to keep an eye on him. "I didn't feel like I should go home," said Dr. Harvey. "What if I got stuck, couldn't get back to the hospital and was unable to treat the patient? You can't do a half job; you have to do the whole thing. You want to do the best you can."

While the surgeon's skill is vastly important in the success of the procedure, Dr. Harvey is quick to credit every level of involvement in the patient's treatment, citing the anesthetists; and the associates in the Emergency Department, Perioperative Services (surgery), the Intensive Care Center, Telemetry, the Laboratory and Imaging; and the volunteers who braved the weather to bring back additional blood platelets. "If anyone had been a weak link or had been missing, it would have caused a problem."

All members of that perfect "chain" agree that it could have been a very different scenario. The tree could have blocked Dr. Harvey's drive completely or the call could have come five minutes later.

"I'm convinced things happen for a reason," said Patricia. "My husband would not have survived the trip if he'd been taken to D.C. The care he received at St. Mary's from start to finish was exceptional."

"I was well taken care of," said James, who is recuperating nicely and is back at work at his auto repair business. He credits Dr. Harvey for saving his life. Patricia agrees. "If something like this had to happen, it's a good thing it was here."