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“We were told that if I had taken the time to take her to another hospital’s emergency room, my wife would probably not be here with me today,” |
Testimonials...
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Nothing Beats Having A Hospital Steps Away
Location, location, location. Any realtor will tell you these are the top three things you consider when you pick a place to hang your hat. For Al and Marilyn Dunn, location is even more important when you pick a retirement community.
Al Dunn, 86, turned to Kettering Medical Center-Sycamore, located steps away from his front yard, for rapid treatment and diagnosis of Marilyn’s heart attack. Today the Dunn’s have entered their 63rd year of marriage in part because they chose to live in Sycamore Glen Retirement Community.
Just over five years ago, Al thought he might be facing his first Christmas without his beloved wife. Marilyn, now 85 years old, was driving in April of 2002 with a friend. They were going to a Darke County elementary school, where together they were volunteering to promote the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. She pulled up to a stop sign, and that is all Marilyn remembers.
A heart attack caused Marilyn to blackout, and she unintentionally moved forward and ran into a semi truck going 70 miles per hour. The car careened down the side of the fast-moving truck, spinning three times before stopping as a mangled mess. Luckily, neither Marilyn nor her friend was seriously hurt. The heart attack went undiagnosed at the central Ohio hospital where Marilyn spent one day after the crash. The accident was written off to inattentiveness, and she was patched up and discharged. Later that night, Marilyn was having dinner with family when she stood up and said, “Al, I don’t feel well” before falling rigidly to the ground.
“Our oldest daughter is a nurse anesthetist,” Al Dunn said. “She looked at Marilyn and said, ‘Dad, get Emergency. Mother is in real trouble.’ She was on a gurney in the Sycamore Emergency Department within 10 minutes.”
Cardiologist Calvert Busch, MD, worked with staff to stabilize Marilyn. He informed Al that his wife had suffered a heart attack before her car crash and was having another one. “We were told that if I had taken the time to take her to another hospital’s emergency room, my wife would probably not be here with me today,” Al said.
Cardiothoracic surgeon Peter Pavlina, MD, performed triple bypass surgery on Marilyn a few days later and she made a complete recovery. She has not had any health issues since. Al has now joined Marilyn in what they call “the zipper club,” as he had an implantable cardiac device placed in 2005. Marilyn started volunteering at KMC-Sycamore soon after her surgery, and Al joined her on the volunteer staff as a birthday present to her last February. They both view it as a way of giving back to the hospital that has given them both so much, and it is another way they like to spend time together.
Al aspires to become the oldest living World War II veteran someday, and he wants to make sure that girl he met in the roller skating rink 70 years ago is still with him when that day comes. Together they sometimes reflect on what a big decision it was to move into Sycamore Glen Retirement Community in October of 2000.
“Now I understand how important it was,” Marilyn said. “I don’t think another retirement community around here can offer a fully-staffed hospital so close by. They have different grades of care here too with the nursing home and assisted living also.”
Al added to that, saying, “How many seniors have thought about that? If they had some serious problem where death could result, just how close is your hospital?”
Location, location, location. Any realtor will tell you these are the top three things you consider when you pick a place to hang your hat. For Al and Marilyn Dunn, location is even more important when you pick a retirement community.
Al Dunn, 86, turned to Kettering Medical Center-Sycamore, located steps away from his front yard, for rapid treatment and diagnosis of Marilyn’s heart attack. Today the Dunn’s have entered their 63rd year of marriage in part because they chose to live in Sycamore Glen Retirement Community.
Just over five years ago, Al thought he might be facing his first Christmas without his beloved wife. Marilyn, now 85 years old, was driving in April of 2002 with a friend. They were going to a Darke County elementary school, where together they were volunteering to promote the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. She pulled up to a stop sign, and that is all Marilyn remembers.
A heart attack caused Marilyn to blackout, and she unintentionally moved forward and ran into a semi truck going 70 miles per hour. The car careened down the side of the fast-moving truck, spinning three times before stopping as a mangled mess. Luckily, neither Marilyn nor her friend was seriously hurt. The heart attack went undiagnosed at the central Ohio hospital where Marilyn spent one day after the crash. The accident was written off to inattentiveness, and she was patched up and discharged. Later that night, Marilyn was having dinner with family when she stood up and said, “Al, I don’t feel well” before falling rigidly to the ground.
“Our oldest daughter is a nurse anesthetist,” Al Dunn said. “She looked at Marilyn and said, ‘Dad, get Emergency. Mother is in real trouble.’ She was on a gurney in the Sycamore Emergency Department within 10 minutes.”
Cardiologist Calvert Busch, MD, worked with staff to stabilize Marilyn. He informed Al that his wife had suffered a heart attack before her car crash and was having another one. “We were told that if I had taken the time to take her to another hospital’s emergency room, my wife would probably not be here with me today,” Al said.
Cardiothoracic surgeon Peter Pavlina, MD, performed triple bypass surgery on Marilyn a few days later and she made a complete recovery. She has not had any health issues since. Al has now joined Marilyn in what they call “the zipper club,” as he had an implantable cardiac device placed in 2005. Marilyn started volunteering at KMC-Sycamore soon after her surgery, and Al joined her on the volunteer staff as a birthday present to her last February. They both view it as a way of giving back to the hospital that has given them both so much, and it is another way they like to spend time together.
Al aspires to become the oldest living World War II veteran someday, and he wants to make sure that girl he met in the roller skating rink 70 years ago is still with him when that day comes. Together they sometimes reflect on what a big decision it was to move into Sycamore Glen Retirement Community in October of 2000.
“Now I understand how important it was,” Marilyn said. “I don’t think another retirement community around here can offer a fully-staffed hospital so close by. They have different grades of care here too with the nursing home and assisted living also.”
Al added to that, saying, “How many seniors have thought about that? If they had some serious problem where death could result, just how close is your hospital?”
