(Photo in extended article contains women) Frederick “Bill” Mitchell of Toms River was packing his car for a weekend getaway to Pennsylvania. Both he and his wife had not been feeling well, as they had both recently had a bout of food poisoning. But Bill asked his wife to take him to the Emergency Room instead, “I knew something was wrong,” he said. Upon arrival at Kimball Medical Center’s Emergency Department, Bill was experiencing shortness of breath and was dehydrated. He was quickly evaluated and the emergency room staff ordered several tests to be done, including an EKG, which showed some irregularities in his heart. Bill was soon admitted to Kimball’s Observation Unit.
“What happened is still a blur to me,” Bill recalls. “They told me that my heart stopped two times,” he said.
Sarah Manning, RN and Yisrael Kadosh, MD, cardiologist, were steps away from Bill’s bed when his heart stopped. According to his chart, Bill was noted to be in Ventricular Fibrillation, which is a lethal heart rhythm. Dr. Kadosh and nurse Manning grabbed the Code Cart and went immediately to the bedside and defibrillated Bill, bringing his rhythm back to normal. Bill’s cardiologist, Dr. V. Paul Kate, arrived and made arrangements for Bill to be flown to a designated cardiac hospital for a cardiac procedure, but before they could board Bill on the helicopter, his heart stopped again. Once again, the team defibrillated him and administered additional medications to try to stabilize him for his flight.
Mitchell underwent a cardiac catheterization procedure, an angioplasty and had an intra-aortic balloon pump inserted. He also underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery to create new routes around narrowed and blocked arteries so that sufficient blood flow would be restored to the heart.
Mitchell returned to Kimball two months later to begin his cardiac rehabilitation program and started his journey on the road to recovery. “I owe a lot to the nurses and staff here at Kimball Medical Center,” he says. “They saved my life and have helped me get back up on my feet again.”
Mitchell has been enrolled in the cardiac rehabilitation program for over eight months. He has successfully completed his initial program and is working on his second maintenance program.
“They really know what they are doing here and have done so much for me,” he said.
Mitchell wanted to thank the staff for all they had done for him, so he did what he does best, and painted a very special and heartfelt thank you for them to keep. “It’s an illustration story of what I have gone through with these wonderful people. I can never truly thank them enough for all they have done for me. They are all very special and talented individuals,” he exclaimed.
The painting is now proudly displayed in Kimball’s Cardiac Rehab department as a daily reminder of his journey to wellness. And as depicted in his painting, Mitchell now says, “Life is good.”
For further information about Kimball Medical Center, please call the Saint Barnabas Health Care Link at 1-888-724-7123.
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Group Picture (attached)
(left to right) Doreen Russo, RN; Sarah Manning, RN; Frederick “Bill” Mitchell; Jeanann Early, RN; and Connie Stummer, RN.
Portrait w/Painting (attached)
Frederick “Bill” Mitchell with his Illustration Story Painting, dedicated to the staff at Kimball Medical Center.
Toms River Resident Paints Special Thank You To Staff At KMC For Saving His Life
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