On Father’s Day, S and I joined our family at my brother’s house in Fremont for a day of swimming and grilling to continue the celebration of our grandson, who had his 4th birthday party the night before. S suddenly got out of the pool and lay down on a lounger; we realized he had stopped breathing.

Our family started CPR and called 911. Upon arrival to the Methodist Fremont Health, S was sent to CT; he had an aortic dissection and needed to be transferred to Omaha Methodist. With the amount of blood and the pressure on S’s aorta, there was a very slim window for S to get to Omaha, for the surgery to be a success, and for S to live.  

The helicopter arrived, and S was loaded very quickly. Upon arriving at Methodist Hospital, he went to surgery in less than 20 minutes. When I arrived, I was greeted by the nicest gentleman at the registration desk. I was so upset that I had forgotten S’s wallet in the car and that I couldn’t give him a copy of his driver's license, which he had requested. He grabbed my hand, held it, and said, “Listen, we don’t need that Driver’s License to give your husband excellent care, and that is all that matters, so just bring it tomorrow or the next day.” The kindness of this man didn’t end that day. Every day he was working, he would say hello to me and ask me how S was doing. The day S was discharged, I walked by him and said, “We are going home,” and he said, “I never had a doubt.”  (This amazing man is Dave Prystai.)

After a 6-hour surgery, I finally was able to meet Dr. Langdon and learn that S survived. Dr Langdon’s first words to us were: “Do you think a father would let a father die on Father’s Day?” and at that moment I knew that God put Dr. Langdon in our lives. For a surgeon who just completed a lengthy surgery, to give my daughters and myself that kind of comfort was just what we needed. 

I would like to recognize the following staff who assisted Dr. Langdon during surgery: Angela Knigge, RN, Kimberly Martinez, Surgical Tech, Kristi Haase, PA, David Votrain, Rad Tech, Wendy Hansen, RN, Carl Heine, MD, Kelly Peterson, MD, Maddy Weisler, perfusionist and Armondo Adame Alcantor, Surgical Tech. 

The next 48 hours were very critical for S and once he was safe enough to be moved upstairs, he was moved to 9 North and was treated by so many amazing nurses. The charge nurse that night was Tyler Raygor, RN, and he was amazing. S was having hard time keeping a stable blood pressure, so it wasn’t safe for us to be in the room at the time. Tyler kept us updated as we waited in the walkway. 

Our son was having a hard time trying to get home from Arizona. When leaving the hospital to go pick him up, Tyler told me to bring my son back so he could see his dad. When we returned, we were greeted by Megan Schwartz, RN, S’s nurse for the next 3 nights. Again, God put her in our lives that night, because he knew we needed someone that was kind, comforting, and someone that could handle a 27-year-old son who needed someone to reassure him that is dad was going to live.

S continued to receive the absolute best care from his nurses, Drew Rogers, RN, Megan, Barb Koke, RN, and Alicia (student nurse), a respiratory therapist and most of all, Joslyn Nutty, RN, the Cardiac Rehab nurse who was amazing. Because of her we feel that is why S progressed so greatly, as she was such an important component. Not only did we need to heal S physically but also emotionally, so she had healing touch come see us as well. 

S beat the odds, and not many people beat these odds, according to both the ER doc and Dr. Langdon. We will forever be grateful for the care that everyone from both hospitals gave S and his family that day.