Heart Patient

Everyone has been excellent. My primary doctor [Dr. Ricardo Dizon] and the pulmonologist [Dr. Amjad Khan] were outstanding.

Austin resident praised Loretto Hospital physicians and staff for the hospitable treatment and outstanding care she received when she was admitted as a patient through the emergency department on Friday, January 8, after being found nearly unconscious by family members in her west side home.

The patient, being 75, was rushed to Loretto at about 11:30 p.m. by paramedics when her grandson, 36, stopped by to find her slumped over gasping for air in her home on West Quincy Street.

“I was going about my daily routine. I felt short of breath and still kept working around the house. I had my oxygen on, but it wasn’t doing anything for me. That’s when my grandson just happened to stop by. He called 911, then he ran upstairs to tell my daughter that I couldn’t breathe. The paramedics came, and that’s all I remember,” Patient said.

The patient suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease also known as COPD. It is estimated that approximately 32 million people in the United States have COPD, and it is the fourth leading cause of deaths in this country. Like this patient, patients with COPD typically struggle with breathing caused by other illnesses associated with having COPD such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. Most often COPD is secondary to tobacco abuse, although diseases such as cystic fibrosis, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, bronchiectasis, may be causes as well.

When asked about her experience at Loretto, the patient replied: “Everyone has been excellent. My primary doctor [Dr. Ricardo Dizon] and the pulmonologist [Dr. Amjad Khan] were outstanding. People say a lot of things about this hospital, but I don’t pay attention to them. But they say a lot of bad things about Rush and other hospitals too. I have my own opinion and this is a good hospital,” she said.

“I am so grateful to the doctors and the staff here. Everyone went far and beyond the call of duty to help my mother, especially the ER doctor [referring the Dr. Steve Meeks]. The nurses and everyone responded so quickly. They kept working on my mother until she responded. Hopefully my mother will continue doing what she is supposed to do so that she will get better,” and have fewer triggers her son said.