Doug Hinze has walked our halls every day for the past five years. Trim, fit, and quick, he has refereed basketball for 20 years and can easily keep up with the kids on the court. For UPMC, he volunteers to deliver newspapers and mail and knows every square inch of the building and many of us by name. He loves his work, and it shows.
This summer, all that changed in a heartbeat. After working as usual until noon, he headed home and prepared for a routine tennis match with a friend at Constitution Park. A pleasant end to a normal day. That is, until his friend turned to see him collapsed and turning blue on the court.
On the other side of town, 22-year-old Isaiah Carrington had reported to duty at the Cumberland Fire Department. It was his first official day on duty as a Maryland certified medic. He and his crew had already run several calls that shift when the call came in at 7:57 p.m.: a full cardiac arrest at Constitution Park tennis court.
They reached the Park in less than six minutes, and assessed the critical situation: a man on the ground, non-responsive, without a pulse and not breathing. Bystanders had started CPR. Cumberland Police Department had arrived. Isaiah and two other medics, Jeff Teter and Brayden Pennington, swung into action, supported by EMTs Tim Malone and JR Monahan. Everything moved extremely quickly, as this team was very well trained and knew what was needed to save a life. They attached a cardiac monitor defibrillator to allow them to interpret the arrhythmia. They cleared and delivered an energy dose. The patient’s pulse came back, but he was having serious breathing difficulty. Oxygen was delivered through ventilation with a bag valve mask. The team reached out to UPMC and worked diligently with their patient as they loaded him for transport to the Emergency Department. A 12-lead EKG was attached to monitor the heart; IV medications were administered. By the time they arrived at the ED, staff were waiting and the cardiac cath team had been assembled. The patient had been kept alive through quick-thinking bystanders, several life-saving interventions from the Cumberland Fire Department, and protocol communication with the UPMC WMD ED. He was back from the brink, but still in critical condition. The whole situation had lasted just 24 minutes.
At UPMC, Doug was hurried to the cardiac cath lab, where a balloon was inserted to address the blockage. From there, he went to the ICU. The immediate crisis had been averted, but there was much more to come.
About 75 patients a year are brought to UPMC Western Maryland in cardiac arrest. Time is of the essence, and we have one of the best door-to-balloon times in the state. Of course, we also treat hundreds of individuals who are not in an emergency situation, but who need open heart surgeries, TAVRs (trans aortic valve replacements) and WATCHMAN devices (to treat Afib). Our Heart and Vascular Institute (HVI) has won numerous awards, and we remain the only open-heart surgery provider west of Baltimore in the state of Maryland.
As our patient lay unaware in the ICU, Dr. Mark Nelson, heart surgeon, and Dr. Shawn Howell, cardiologist, discussed options. The situation was complex: a significant blockage, stenosis, and dangerously low heart function. They agreed that further treatment should be provided at a center with the capacity to perform a procedure called an L-VAD (left ventricular assist device) should that become necessary during surgery. They chose UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh. We have a major advantage through our UPMC network - the expertise of our HVI right here in our community and immediate access to one of the top hospital systems in the country when we need it.
In the ICU, HVI Director Savannah Kenney recognized the unconscious patient as the man she sees daily in our hallways. It was an emotional experience. Her clinical expertise told her he very well might not survive.
Doug was life-flighted to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh. I know that many of us were praying for him.
In his own words, he shares: “A few days later, I started to gain consciousness, and someone told me I was in UPMC Presbyterian and that I went into cardiac arrest. My first reaction was, that can’t be true! I work out. I’m active. I run with basketball players up and down the court. I don’t smoke and I don’t drink alcohol. I routinely walk four to five miles every day.”
The staff reiterated that he had indeed had a heart attack and that the physicians had placed two stents. Over the next two weeks, Doug rebounded much more quickly than anticipated. The doctor said his recovery was nothing short of a miracle.
Back here, many of us were concerned. Little did we know he was doing so well that he was insisting to come back to Western Maryland, to the staff he calls family. Just 18 days after being life-flighted to Pittsburgh, he was admitted to our Rehab Unit. Savannah, who was so concerned after his heart attack, saw many staff in tears that day and says, “We just couldn’t believe what we were seeing.” Just as soon as he was medically cleared, he was back here, making his daily rounds. We know we have a miracle in our midst.
But there’s more. During the Foundation's golf tournament in August, he was randomly talking with another volunteer, who happened to be a member of the Cumberland Fire Department. The topic of course turned to his health. And then… would you like to meet the man who saved your life? One phone call and a few minutes later, a Cumberland Fire Department vehicle pulled up with three crew members, including Isaiah Carrington, who - incidentally - had no idea why he had been called there.
Within minutes, there wasn’t a dry eye among them. Questions and answers, thank yous and wows. Isaiah’s peers tell him what happened that day is one in a million. Most go an entire career without such an amazing outcome, let alone getting to meet the person whose life you saved.
Our volunteer says, “God put the right people in the right positions.” Every day I thank Him for the gift of life, living another day. I find myself looking forward to simple things like refereeing basketball.” He appreciates his church family.
In the lunch line recently a nurse tapped him on the shoulder, smiling, and said, “I was working in the ICU the night you came in. I helped take care for you. I know you don’t remember me, but I remember you. I’m so glad you’re doing well.”
He says “working at UPMC W MD means everything to me. This is my family. There are very special people here that showed how much they cared about me when I needed it the most.”
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