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I wouldn’t call myself extraordinary, but I can tell you that Eagle Ridge Hospital is. I know because I am a nurse there – and they saved my life.

I woke up one morning in February 2008 and as I headed into the bathroom, I found myself very dizzy. My 12 year old daughter Chelsea heard the sound of me hitting the bathroom floor. She rushed in to find me collapsed and barely responsive. Chelsea screamed out to my husband who knew immediately when he saw me that I needed urgent help.

I was lucky – the ambulance decided to take me directly to the Emergency Department at Eagle Ridge Hospital to get immediate care rather than driving to another hospital. I have been told that decision – to take me to my community hospital – is what saved my life.

When I arrived at Eagle Ridge Hospital, I went into full cardiac arrest. Attempts to revive me with CPR were unsuccessful. The Emergency physician on duty made a brave choice to open up my chest and use his hands to perform internal cardiac massage on my heart to get oxygen flowing through it. As he did this, a surgeon made an incision in my abdomen to investigate whether internal bleeding was the cause of my dire situation. Upon discovering there was no internal bleeding, they realized blood clots in my lungs were completely blocking oxygen from getting to my heart.

With the physician continuously massaging my heart, I was transferred to a trauma hospital where emergency surgery removed the blood clots and allowed oxygen to flow through my heart once again.

Fast forward ten years, I am alive, healthy and active. My work as a nurse in the Emergency Department at Eagle Ridge Hospital brings me back to where my life was saved by the extraordinary medical team I now call my family.

This family works hard every day as the demand for health services increases and the communities around Eagle Ridge Hospital grow. With nearly 51,000 patient visits to our Emergency Department last year, I want to make sure that you and your family receive life-saving care when you need it – just like I did. I am asking for you to join me in making a donation.

Please make your gift today. Your donation will support greatest needs and essential medical equipment; equipment that our medical team needs to save and change lives in our Emergency Department. With your help, we can continue to deliver the highest level of patient care and save many more extraordinary lives … every day.