By Chuck Supple
One Saturday evening in November 2019, I was walking in downtown Chicago with my wife and son when I started having chest pains. My wife called 911, and paramedics rushed me to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. I was having a heart attack.
Though I was in severe pain, I was also fully conscious and aware of the number of people attending to me in the Emergency Department. I vividly recall making eye contact with one physician; the look in her eyes was so reassuring.
I was soon taken into the operating room where two cardiologists were able to open my right coronary artery, which was completely blocked. After the procedure, I was wheeled to a private room in the Critical Care Unit (CCU) under the care of an exceptional team of nurses.
My first nurse soon noticed a large bruise on my arm from the surgery. She and two physicians then took turns continuously massaging my arm for the next two hours. They talked to me the whole time and kept me calm until they determined it was safe for me to go to sleep.
The physicians who came to see me throughout that weekend were extremely good listeners and communicators. They fielded questions from my family and me, clearly explaining everything. By Monday morning, I was able to get out of bed and walk around the CCU floor.
After returning home to Madison, Wisconsin, I saw my cardiologist and started cardiac rehabilitation. Now, I have lots of energy. I’m out walking or keeping busy around the house. I have lots of energy, and I am embracing the lifestyle and dietary changes I need to make for a healthy life.
Thank you to the cardiac team at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for saving my life and taking such good care of me. I am forever grateful.
You are the best of the best.
