Today was the type of day that you hope will never happen.  Our hygienist was treating her first patient, in a rather uneventful appointment.  Sitting our patient up, she turned to make an entry in the patient’s chart.  As she did so, she heard a strange gurgling sound.  She turned to see our patient, falling off the dental chair, stiff and unresponsive.

She immediately called me into her room, and we struggled to get him back in the chair.  Our receptionists called 911, as we tried to find a pulse and check if he was still breathing.  We began CPR as the dental assistants ran for the oxygen.  We began chest compressions and gave him oxygen, while trying in vain to get some response.

About five minutes later, the ambulances and EMS workers arrived.  They lowered our patient to the floor and tried to find a pulse – there was none.  (As one of the emergency workers later said, “he was dead on our floor”).  They charged the defibrillator and gave one shock, and a pulse was detected.

As the ambulance drove off, the police officers who had arrived remained with us, waiting to hear from the hospital.  After an endless 45 minutes, they received the call that our patient was relatively stable, and would be treated at the hospital.  The young officers thanked us for our efforts, and left.

We were all stunned and shocked by what had happened.  I have never been more impressed by challenges that those who deal in emergency response have to face daily.

Shortly after, I took the patient’s personal belongings that had been left in the office with me, and headed off to the hospital.  When I found the area where he was taken, I introduced myself and one of the nurses sitting at the reception desk said, “fantastic job”. 

Another nurse took me to the cardiac lab, where four technicians were observing monitors, while behind a wall of glass two doctors were treating my fallen patient.  One of the technicians pointed to a beating heart on one of the monitors, saying “this man was a walking time bomb.  There is almost complete blockage around his heart.  Today was his lucky day.”

I thought what would have happened if heart failure had happened 10 minutes later, while he was driving home?  Surely he would not have survived, and may have inadvertently done harm to others.

Today, I learned that bravery is not about being cool, calm and collected in the face of adversity.  It’s about being scared, concerned, dreading the worst, and staying just this side of panic, and doing what needs to be done.

To the brave ladies that I work with, who maintained control, and stayed just this side of panic – today we saved a man’s life.

You are heroes.

                                                                    - Dr. Jules Litwin

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