心脏病患者杰克·艾斯纳
杰克·艾斯纳和他的家人
杰克艾斯 was in the prime of his life when he almost lost it.
It was August 8, 2016, a hot summer day before his senior year of high school. 艾斯 recalled getting halfway through a three-mile run during soccer practice. The next thing he remembers is waking up in a dark room four days later. At age 17, he had suffered cardiac arrest.
艾斯 collapsed during his run. His coach and teammates first thought he fainted due to the heat. They soon realized it was far more serious when he turned grey and stopped breathing.
Thankfully, one of his teammates, J.P. Chucart, was a lifeguard and began CPR. Chucart and 艾斯’s coaches kept up the CPR for more than seven minutes until an ambulance arrived and rushed him to Saint Francis Medical Center.
“Everyone told me it was a miracle I survived and an even bigger miracle I did not suffer any significant brain damage,艾斯纳说.
At Saint Francis, 艾斯 was put in a medically induced coma for three days. He went into cardiac arrest on a Monday, 星期五从昏迷中苏醒过来, had surgery to implant a defibrillator on his heart and was released the following Monday.
The efficient stay “is a testament to the awesome the team at Saint Francis,艾斯纳说.
艾斯 considers it a blessing he does not remember those eight days. He does, however, clearly remember the next sixth months.
“I was living on edge,” he said. “My heart was in a state of flux after the original cardiac event.”
The defibrillator was working overtime.
“My heart would do what it wanted when it wanted,艾斯纳说. “It is no fun when that thing goes off. 它很疼，真的很可怕. You kind of panic because you do not know what to do.”
最终, the team at Saint Francis was able to balance his medication dosage to keep 艾斯’s heart calm.
他认为 Steven Joggerst，医学博士, interventional cardiologist at Cape心脏病学小组, a Saint Francis Medical Partner, with helping him overcome the anxiety over his health. Joggerst gave 艾斯 his cell phone number and said he could call him anytime.
“You are okay,” 艾斯 recalls Dr. 慢跑者告诉他. “Your heart is structurally sound.”
Joggerst was empathetic and able to keep him calm and grounded, 艾斯 recalled. He assured his then-teenage patient the medicine would do its job, 告诉他, “You are good to just live your normal life.”
“That was definitely a sigh-of-relief for me.艾斯纳说.
Joggerst vividly recalled 艾斯’s ordeal. He found remarkable the chance of having bystanders who knew what to do and acted quickly to save his life.
Joggerst found a connection in imagining what 艾斯’s parents must have been going through.
“I was young in my career and young in my family,” Joggerst said. “My wife and I have a son named Jack who was a toddler at that time.”
It has been almost six years since that day, and 艾斯’s life has regained a steady rhythm. He still thinks about the ordeal from time to time, but worry does not control his life.
“I have gotten so used to it now that it is not necessarily an inconvenience.”
艾斯 said it was tough to give up his previous lifestyle, but he has come to terms with it and is grateful. “我曾经是一个狂热的跑步者. My life was pretty much sports,” 艾斯 recalled. He joked that if giving up sports means he gets to keep his life, “that is a trade I will make eleven times out of ten.”
Still an athlete at heart, 艾斯 has found a way to feed that need.
“高尔夫，”他说. “It is a form of exercise that still keeps my heart rate low. 我正在慢慢好转. It has been fun because it is something I can dedicate myself to.”
艾斯, now a Southeast Missouri State University graduate and personal banker at First Missouri State Bank, is happy to share his experience and eager to raise awareness when it comes to heart health. 就像博士. Joggerst was able to do so for him, 艾斯 would like to be a source of information to anyone in a similar situation.
“Look me up on 脸谱网; I would be more than happy to help. 随时给我留言. I will absolutely talk to anybody about it.”
Joggerst said 艾斯’s grace, kindness and patience throughout this experience stand out most to him. He said 艾斯 “never once conveyed any negativity or self-pity. He continuously expressed gratitude for life and those around him.”
Most of all, 艾斯 is grateful to all the doctors and staff who took care of him.
“Saint Francis was incredible, and they are the reason I am alive today,” he said. “I cannot say enough good things about the Saint Francis 心医院. 他们太棒了!”
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