[...]... moved all of the extraneous equipment out of the room so the family could have 360-degree uncluttered access to Dorothy’s body to touch her and kiss her whenever and wherever they wished I brought down the bed rails and encouraged them to get into bed with her and hold her, which a few of her children did We pulled out her nasogastric tube, which had been inserted into her right nostril and snaked into... grasped the closest railing of the bed, unlocked the bed’s brake with my foot, and started moving the patient single-handedly and singlemindedly toward the door of the cath lab “Pack her up, we’re heading to the OR!” I called to the pit crew of nurses and techs Sometimes actions speak louder than words, and when they saw me start moving the bed, they were on board with my plan As I said: firm grip, confidence... body This is called sepsis It is yet another form that death can take After three months of battle, months where she lapsed into and out of consciousness, months that we hoped weren’t lived in pain, the family felt that it was time to surrender They had lingered at her bedside every day They had watched her fluctuate between good days, when she seemed to brighten up, and bad days, when her color would... assistant and I each took an edge of sternum and pulled toward ourselves using our body weight as countertraction Like breaking a wishbone, we pulled her sternum apart and placed a retractor along the sternal edge to hold the chest open I immediately reached in and began open cardiac massage by gently pushing down on her heart, which was covered by a sac called the pericardium and mediastinal fat, which is... brain and I half expected her not to regain consciousness at all I spoke to her and told her what had happened and that it was amazing that she was even alive She rolled her eyes and gestured with the palm of her hand on her forehead in an “I could’ve had a V8” mannerism as if to say that she knew she was in this predicament because she (and, sadly, her doctors) ignored the warning signs I admit now... time and anesthesia not to check for colon cancer Her upper endoscopy was performed and found to be normal Her lower endoscopy didn’t go as smoothly Inadvertently, her colon was perforated during the examination and a general surgeon was called to evaluate Dorothy She required urgent surgery to repair the small hole in her colon The abdominal surgery was straightforward and went well Dorothy would make... that they understand what the patient would want at this juncture better than I ever could I have to trust them I have to I see patients live who should die and I see patients die who should live, but it is not for me to judge the situation so I must simply lay down my weapons of healing and trust the family As the family and I gathered around Dorothy’s bedside, we began the process of disconnecting... Page 8 Healing Hearts was worsened by stress and relieved with rest at night Recently, however, she was even waking at night with indigestion and kept a constant supply of antacids at her bedside, which she chewed like candy throughout the night She told the gastroenterologist for whom she worked about her symptoms and he said, “It’s probably an ulcer caused by stress You should have an endoscopy to check... smelled like roasted marshmallows whose edges had been singed by a Lake George campfire The cardiologist who had performed the catheterization 9 www.BroadwayBooks.com Magl_9780767930260_3p_all_r1.qxp:Layout 1 11/20/09 1:50 PM Page 10 Healing Hearts approached me in haste Sweat formed on his upper lip and brow He had been working hard to save her “Is surgery an option here?” he said, his eyes drifting... such a profound insult? Only time would tell For the first few days she appeared to stabilize and do well She awakened after two days of deep sedation and was able to communicate Even though she remained on a ventilator and unable to speak, she “spoke” with those around her by nods and gestures This, in itself, was nothing short of a miracle because when the heart is arrested, there is no blood flow to the . mind, the nurse grabbed me and dragged me to OR 7, opened the door, and threw me in. Like Kobe beef in a lion’s den, I thought I d be devoured whole. All hell. surgeon (Dr. Netter, I presume, for I had never met the man) yelled, “Get some gloves on and get over here!” Get over where? By you, where all the blood is shooting