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Quick action by the staff at St. Luke\u2019s Carbon Campus\u2019s Emergency Room helped save the life of Warminster resident Ed Shope, seen here with his wife, Regina.\u00a0(Credit: St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network)<\/p>\nEd Shope\u00a0of Warminster, Bucks County, was at his vacation home in Jim Thorpe\u00a0last August\u00a0for a gathering to celebrate his granddaughter\u2019s\u00a0birthday.\u00a0He had been\u00a0trying to ignore discomfort in his upper abdomen for a few days when the unthinkable happened: He passed out.\u00a0His wife Regina called 911 for an ambulance, which took him to the nearby St. Luke\u2019s Carbon Campus.<\/p>\n
Quick action by the staff at St. Luke\u2019s Carbon Campus\u2019s Emergency Room helped save the life of Warminster resident Ed Shope, seen here with his wife, Regina.\u00a0(Credit: St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network)<\/p>\n
Fedaa Jabir,\u00a0PA-C,\u00a0a\u00a0St. Luke\u2019s physician\u00a0assistant certified in emergency medicine, put him through a complete workup with blood tests and\u00a0ordered a CT scan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was\u00a0working\u00a0the emergency department back in August and our PA did the heavy lifting with the workup,\u201d said Daniel Plavin, MD, who practices both family\u00a0medicine\u00a0at St. Luke\u2019s Jim Thorpe Primary Care\u00a0and\u00a0emergency\u00a0medicine\u00a0for St. Luke\u2019s. \u201cHe came\u00a0in with complaints of fainting and abdominal pain, and he did not look good.\u00a0He was pale, lethargic, in pain, his belly was tender, his blood pressure was\u00a0low\u00a0and his respiration was high.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr.\u00a0Plavin\u00a0said Ed\u2019s lab work was all over the place, which was a cause for concern.\u00a0He\u00a0took\u00a0an initial\u00a0look at\u00a0the CT scan\u00a0and suspected\u00a0a\u00a0ruptured\u00a0abdominal aortic aneurism (AAA), which is often fatal.\u00a0He\u00a0immediately\u00a0got\u00a0on the phone to get a radiologist to read the CT\u00a0scan, which confirmed the diagnosis.<\/p>\n
The survival rate for a ruptured AAA is\u00a0very low. About 50 percent of patients die before even\u00a0reaching\u00a0a hospital and the overall mortality rate is greater than 80 percent.<\/p>\n
Within minutes, a St. Luke\u2019s Life Flight helicopter transported Ed to St. Luke\u2019s University Hospital in Bethlehem, where\u00a0St. Luke\u2019s vascular surgeon Michael\u00a0Qaqish, MD,\u00a0performed\u00a0a noninvasive procedure\u00a0called\u00a0endovascular abdominal aortic repair\u00a0(EVAR), which\u00a0is\u00a0accomplished\u00a0by running a catheter through the\u00a0femoral vasculature\u00a0rather than opening up the patient\u2019s abdomen or chest.<\/p>\n
After the\u00a0initial\u00a0fainting spell,\u00a0Ed, 66,\u00a0was awake and relatively\u00a0cognizant\u00a0throughout the ordeal, including the surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Plavin stepped\u00a0up!\u201d he recalled. \u201cAfter they wheeled me back\u00a0from\u00a0the scan I remember Dr. Plavin said he wanted to\u00a0take a look\u00a0at it, and the\u00a0next thing he and the PA were running down the hall.\u00a0He\u00a0came\u00a0back and told me a helicopter was\u00a0en\u00a0route and would take me to Bethlehem. He\u00a0saved my life because he\u00a0expedited\u00a0the scan to be read by\u00a0radiology.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because the house in Jim Thorpe was just a few minutes from St. Luke\u2019s Carbon Campus, other family members were able to get there to say\u00a0potential last goodbyes and\u00a0wish Ed good luck before the helicopter spirited him away to Bethlehem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even though\u00a0Ed\u00a0and Regina live in Warminster, they are sold on St. Luke\u2019s care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were so happy with Dr. Plavin and Dr.\u00a0Qaqish\u00a0that we\u00a0will\u00a0start\u00a0seeing a St. Luke\u2019s cardiologist,\u201d\u00a0Ed said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Plavin was surprised by the couple\u00a0later on\u00a0when they\u00a0went to his family medicine practice\u00a0unannounced to\u00a0offer personal thanks\u00a0and a heartfelt thank you note, which read: \u201cDr. Plavin, you were the start of our beautiful\u00a0outcome on\u00a0Aug. 16. Because of\u00a0your\u00a0amazing performance and dedication to your profession, you saved Ed\u2019s life.\u00a0Had you\u00a0not\u00a0looked\u00a0at his scan and rushed for radiology to read\u00a0them,\u00a0the outcome would have been different. For that, we are eternally grateful. Your swift action saved him. I thank God for you. Ed and Regina Shope.\u201d<\/p>\n