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What are the odds a husband and wife would each require emergency care for serious health issues--a blood clot in one case, a heart attack in the other--exactly one week apart? However long they might be, the odds caught up with George and Kathy Klein in August 2008.
Fortunately, the Oxford, Iowa, couple survived after receiving emergency care at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Kathy's need for urgent care developed after a routine examination by her UI Family Care physician, Adelaide Gurwell, MD. Kathy's high white cell count placed her at high risk either for a blood clot or perhaps cancer of some kind.
Gurwell quickly called Kathy and urged her to visit the Emergency Treatment Center (ETC) at UI Hospitals and Clinics for immediate follow-up.
UI's emergency physician staff found that Kathy had a potentially life-threatening blood clot in her leg, a recurrence of something she had experienced 30 years earlier during a pregnancy.
Following consultation and medication, Kathy returned home and is feeling fine. Her condition will be carefully monitored for the rest of her life.
Her gratitude for the quality of care she received runs deep.
"From the moment I walked in the door until the moment I left, I received nothing but the best care and concern by the nurses and doctors, and the entire staff," she says. "The resident physician I had, Dr. Andrew Weiss, was simply incredible. He continued to stop in and check on me. He wanted to be sure I was OK and not ignored--and there wasn't even a hint of that."
Exactly one week to the day later, George began experiencing chest pains and sweating profusely during a dental visit in Iowa City.
"I had to take a time-out for a bit but then we finished," he says, noting that he was in a state of denial at the time.
After returning to his real estate office in Coralville, Iowa, however, the chest pains returned--sending him immediately to the ETC.
"I ended up needing a cardiac catheterization and then bypass surgery with Dr. (Robert) Farivar," Klein says. "So I went from the ER to the cardiology wing to the Cardiovascular ICU, the surgical area, and then back to the cardiology wing. "Everything was top-notch during the 10 days I was in the hospital."
Now under the watchful eye of Ademola Abiose, MD, a cardiologist with UI Heart and Vascular Care, George is an enthusiastic participant in CHAMPS, the Cardiovascular Health, Assessment, Management, and Prevention Service.
He has dropped 20 pounds, kicked a 50-year smoking habit, and is watching his diet closely. As a result, he has a renewed zest for life.
"I don't think he's felt this good in years, regardless of the stress of day-to-day life," Kathy says. " We can't say enough about the doctors and nurses and everyone else who took care of both of us."
For questions about heart and vascular care, patients and families should call UI Health Access at 319-384-8442 or 800-777-8442 and ask for the UI Heart and Vascular Center, or e-mail ui-heart-vascular@uiowa.edu . More information also is available at www.uihealthcare.com/heartcare/.
For more information about cardiovascular health services, call UI Health Access and ask for CHAMPS, e-mail: patricia-lounsbury@uiowa.edu
For consultation or referral, physicians should call UI Consult at 319-384-8008 or 800-322-8442.
--Michael Sondergard
"If anyone has to experience the kind of August we went through last year, the only place to be is UI Hospitals and Clinics!"
--Kathy Klein |
