Chapter 67: A Close Call

July 23, 1994, Naperville, Illinois

“Steve, help me get him on the floor,” Doctor Washington, who reached us first, said. “Quickly!”

We moved Al to the floor and I loosened his tie and unbuttoned the collar of his tuxedo shirt, while Doctor Washington took his pulse.

“One of you get a bag!” he said urgently. “And call 9-1-1!”

I pulled out my cellular phone, moved back a bit, and dialed.

“Doctor Robertson ran to her car,” Gina said.

“Daddy?!” Fawn cried from Georg’s arms.

Belinda looked white as a ghost, but I didn’t think she was going to collapse. Gerry put his arm around his mom, though he didn’t look much better.

“He’s breathing and has a pulse,” Doctor Washington said to Jessica, who knelt down next to Al.

“A 54-year-old male is having a heart attack. There are two doctors with him, but we need paramedics and an ambulance RIGHT NOW!”

“Tamarack Golf Club in Naperville. I don’t know the street number, but it’s on Royal Worlington Drive. We’re in the main banquet hall.”

Doctor Robertson came running back with a medical bag and Doctor Washington had the stethoscope in his ears a few seconds later while Jessica fitted the blood pressure cuff. Most of the guests had crowded around the table and I motioned to Eduardo and Bo to get them to move back. They started doing that and I listened to Malik and Jessica evaluate him, but was interrupted by the 9-1-1 operator.

“I will. Thank you.”

I snapped the phone shut.

“Paramedics are five minutes out,” I said. “Eduardo, Bo, get everyone back to their seats, please.” I stood up and turned, “Tom, could you go direct the paramedics in?”

“On it!” he said, and sprinted for the door.

Bethany and Kara came to stand next to me while we waited for the doctors to do their thing. Two minutes later I heard sirens, and a minute after that, Tom was bodily moving people out of the way to clear a path for his colleagues from the Naperville Fire Department. The paramedics knelt down next to the doctors and began opening equipment cases.

“I’m Doctor Malik Washington from UofC and this is my colleague Doctor Jessica Adams from Cook County. Your patient is Doctor Albert Barton, 54, Chief of Emergency Medicine at UofC. Pulse is thready at 100, respiration is shallow at 14, and BP is 160/100. Unless I miss my guess, he’s going to need a trip to the cath lab. Edward is where you should take him.”

Edward Hospital in Naperville was about ten to twelve minutes away by ambulance at speed. I couldn’t remember how I knew where it was, but I did.

“Somebody will have to take Belinda,” Tom said quietly. “They don’t allow ride-along.”

“OK.”

The doctors moved out of the way, and Jessica came to stand next to me. I put my arm around her as the paramedics attached the leads for an EKG and put an oxygen mask on Al. They repeated the exam that Malik and Jessica did, getting similar results. One of the firemen got on the radiophone to the hospital and read off the information he had. They put nitroglycerin under Al’s tongue, and quickly got him onto a gurney. They hustled him out with Doctor Washington following right behind.

“What do you want to do, Babe?” I asked.

“Are you kidding?” she asked.

“Take my keys and go,” I said, handing them to her. “I’ll help get the kids rounded up. Take Belinda and Gerry with you. Tom said they don’t allow ride-along and she’s in no condition to drive.”

“What about Fawn and Georg?”

“Let me talk to Georg and see how he wants to handle it, but I’m sure they’ll be there. Go!”

“Thanks, Tiger,” she said, kissing me and running after the firemen, Doctor Washington, Belinda, and Gerry.

I walked over to Georg who was holding a crying Fawn in his arms.

“What do you want to do?” I asked.

“Obviously we don’t have a car, and Al and Belinda came by limo as well.”

“We have plenty of cars. I can have someone drive you to the hospital. I’ll take care of everything here if you want.”

“Thanks, Steve,” he said.

“Bethany?” I called out. “Could you and Tom take Fawn and Georg to Edward Hospital? It’s on Washington, between 75th Street and Ogden Avenue. I’ll take care of Nicholas.”

“I know exactly where we’re going,” Tom said. “Come with us.”

Fawn and Georg followed Tom and Bethany out of the building and I went to Kara and Michelle.

“What do you think?” I asked Kara. “Should we tell everyone to leave, or just wait?”

“I think just wait,” she said. “Maybe ask the DJ to play some soft music for now.”

I nodded and walked over to the DJ and made the request. He said he’d put on some soft instrumental music and I went back to where Kara and Michelle were with the kids.

“Do you think he’ll be OK?” Kara asked.

“From what Doctor Washington said, I’d say he’ll eventually be OK. It sounds like he has a blocked blood vessel. I don’t know enough to know if they can hear that through a stethoscope, but Doctor Washington seemed pretty certain.”

“Poor Fawn,” Michelle said. “On her wedding day!”

“Are we going to the hospital?” Kara asked.

“I think the best bet is to get the kids into the van and cars, and have you guys and Elyse head home. I’ll get Bo and Gina to take me to the hospital so I can be with Jessica, and then we can come home in my car. Is that OK?”

“Sure.”

I went to Elyse and let her know the plan, and we managed to get everyone settled in the van and cars, I kissed the kids, Kara, and Michelle, then found Bo and Gina for the drive to Edward Hospital.

“That was pretty fast thinking and good management of the situation, girlfriend.”

“Hey, bitch, I’m not just a pretty face!” I chuckled.

“Do you two EVER stop?” Bo asked, as we got into the car.

“No!” Gina and I both said.

“Steve, you seem pretty calm given what happened,” Bo said.

From the back seat of the car I said, “I suppose I could have freaked out and run around like my hair was on fire, but I don’t see how that would have helped Al. I also saw how calm Doctor Washington and my wife were. Doctor Washington thinks he has an occluded blood vessel and they can fix that pretty easily.”

“Says the guy who never went to medical school!” Gina protested.

“Tell me I’m wrong, girlfriend,” I said. “His heart didn’t stop and he didn’t stop breathing; his BP is high, but not dangerously so; his pulse is fast and thready, but again, not dangerously so; and his respiration is normal for his condition.”

“You sound like a doctor, Steve!” Bo said.

“I’m surrounded by them!” I replied. “It’s kind of hard not to pick up the basics! You could too; you sleep with one every night!”

“Yeah, but our deal is I don’t talk financial markets and she doesn’t talk medicine. It makes for a happy marriage!”

We arrived at the hospital, parked, and found our way into the ER. Tom and Bethany were there, but I didn’t see Jessica, Doctor Washington, or Belinda. I did see Fawn and Georg sitting in a pair of chairs.

“Your wife and the other doctor are in the treatment room,” Tom said, walking over to us.

“Then we’ll sit and wait.”

We sat near Georg and Fawn, who was still crying, and about twenty minutes later, Jessica came out to the waiting room.

“Doctor Washington was right. Doctor Barton is going to the cath lab.”

“How is he?” I asked.

“He came to in the ambulance and he’s cranky. I suspect he’ll be about as good a patient as you were, Tiger.”

“That should be fun for the doctors and nurses here,” I said. “What happens next?”

“They’ll do a cardiac catheterization and he’ll be out of the hospital in a couple of days. They’ll do a full workup to see if there is any permanent damage, but Doctor Washington said he didn’t see any indication of that.”

“Where’s Doctor Washington?”

“He’s going to the cath lab with Doctor Barton. The cardiology guys in Chicago are all thick as thieves.”

“And Belinda?”

“She’s in there with him.”

“What do you want to do, Babe?” I asked.

“Our adrenaline is going to wear off any second now, and I’m going to turn back into Jess,” she sighed.

“I was amazed at how calm and businesslike you were, given that it was Doctor Al.”

“We all have to do that,” Gina said. “Losing our cool would endanger patients.”

“I’m just glad you learned how to turn it off after a crisis has passed, Babe,” I said putting my arm around Jessica.

“Neither of us should drive home,” Jessica said. “Not after that kind of adrenaline rush.”

“We can drive,” Bo said. “One of us will drive your car, and one ours. We really only live around the corner from you guys.”

“We’ll stay with Georg and Fawn and wait for Belinda,” Bethany said. “And I guess Doctor Washington will need to get his car.”

“His wife is around here somewhere, too,” Jessica said.

“Why don’t we just stay in a hotel,” I said. “I’m sure there’s one close.”

“There is,” Tom said. “The Marriott is less than fifteen minutes from here.”

“Let me call home and then the hotel. Do you guys want to stay with us? I’m sure Jennifer and Josie will watch Nicholas.”

“Go,” Gina said. “We’ll help take care of Belinda, Fawn, Georg, and the Washingtons.”

“OK,” Bethany said.

I made the calls, and then the four of us headed in two cars to the Marriott. As predicted, both Jess and I crashed, and fell asleep almost immediately.

July 24, 1994, Naperville, Illinois

Tom, Bethany, Jessica, and I had breakfast at the hotel, and then my wife and I headed back to the hospital, while Tom and Bethany headed back into the city.

“You seem to be doing OK this morning,” I said.

“A good night’s sleep in your arms can make all the difference. And Doctor Barton is going to be fine.”

At the desk, Jessica flashed her ID and they gave us his room number. We walked down the hallway to the elevators and rode up to the correct floor.

“Shoe’s on the other foot now, Al,” I grinned when we walked into his room.

“He’s a bad patient, just like you are,” Doctor Washington said with a smile.

“Did you get any sleep at all, Doctor Washington?” I asked.

“I borrowed the cardiology Resident’s cot. He was busy all night, so I actually got some sleep. Doctor Swanson and her husband took my wife home. And you can call me Malik at this point, if you want.”

“So how is he?”

“I’m not dead yet,” Al groused.

“Monty Python quotes aside, Malik, how is he?” I grinned.

“He had a single occlusion and the procedure was successful. There does not appear to be any permanent damage. He’ll need a bit of rest, but he should be good as new. We’ll probably put him on some maintenance blood thinners.”

“Hmm, and I thought he had ice water in his veins,” I grinned.

“His students are going to wonder how this happened. The rumor at the medical school is that he has no heart!”

“OK; OK;” Al complained. “You’ve had your laughs.”

“So, what happened?” I asked.

“There’s nothing in his medical history that indicated any issues,” Doctor Washington said. “His cholesterol is good; his blood sugar is good; his triglycerides are good; he doesn’t smoke and hasn’t had a drop of alcohol in about 30 years; and he runs on the treadmill at least three times a week.”

“So clean living isn’t the answer?” I grinned.

“Malik, if you agree with him...” Al said menacingly.

“You know I’m kidding, Al!” I laughed. “You know my diet and exercise regimen. And ever since my Russian friends went home, I don’t drink to excess.”

“And that bit about inhaling burning weeds?”

“How are Fawn and Georg?” I asked, turning to Belinda, and ignoring Al’s question.

“They’re going on their honeymoon,” Belinda said. “I talked them into it last night after Al’s procedure. Their flight is at noon.”

“Good,” I said.

“They’re stopping here in about thirty minutes. They basically crashed so one of Al’s friends came and got them and took them to his place in Naperville. He’ll make sure they get on the plane.”

“What happened to Gerry?” I asked.

“He slept at a friend’s house. He’ll be here later, too.”

“OK. Is there anything we can do?”

“Get me out of this place!” Al said, causing everyone to laugh.

“With his relatively healthy lifestyle, what will you do?” I asked Doctor Washington.

“Now that we know he has an issue,” he replied, “we’ll monitor it, and as I said, most likely put him on blood thinners. In a sense, it’s like your situation where we watch and see.”

“Speaking of which, I had a bout of near-syncope in Japan.”

“Tiger?” Jessica asked, worriedly.

“What happened?” Doctor Washington asked.

“When I received my karate promotion, I was completely taken by surprise because it was two ranks, not one, which basically does not happen. I felt a bit dizzy, and the signs of an oncoming short circuit. But I fought it, stayed standing, and never felt the heart flutter that would signal I was going to pass out, so I knew I was going to be OK.”

“How long into your trip was that?”

“Literally at the end,” I replied. “So five weeks.”

“You had plenty of time to have your body clock adjust,” he said. “How were your diet, exercise, and sleep?”

A little light bulb went on in my head, and I had a suspicion.

“The latter two were pretty much normal,” I said. “I ran every day, and practiced karate either alone or with others for about three hours a day. My diet was Japanese. Overall, healthy, but I had rice with literally every meal from the time I boarded the plane at LAX until I walked off the return flight.”

“Which is probably about ten times your normal daily carb load,” Doctor Washington said. “Did you take your baby aspirin and Vitamin D?”

I shook my head, “I didn’t take them with me because of customs. I did have Advil, but only accidentally because it was in the pocket of my carry-on bag. With regard to Vitamin D, I was outside pretty much eight hours every day, unlike here where I’m mostly only outside early in the morning for maybe an hour when there’s barely any sun.”

“Call my office and make an appointment for a check-up. Just to be safe.”

“Will do, Doc,” I said, then turned to my wife, “What do you want to do, Jess?”

“I think we can go home,” she said.

“Al, when are they letting you out?” I asked.

“Tuesday.”

“And then he’s on leave for two weeks, per my orders,” Doctor Washington said.

“You’re a real pal, Malik,” Doctor Barton said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“And I intend to be your pal for another thirty or forty years, Al,” he said, then turned to Belinda. “Have him at my office on Wednesday for a full exam. We’ll schedule a stress test when you’re there. Enlist Steve if you need help convincing him.”

Belinda smiled, “Al will be there. I’ll make sure of it.”

We said ‘goodbye’ and Jessica and I walked out to my car for the drive back into the city.

“You stayed really calm, all things considered,” I said as I turned right onto Washington Street.

“But you know how I was on the inside. I turned on my ‘Doctor Jessica’ mode and just kept it on until we crashed at the hotel last night. Doctor Washington was confident, so I was confident.”

“I trust him with my life,” I said. “Literally. So what’s your opinion?”

She shrugged slightly, “I’m not a cardiologist, but it has to be genetic. You know his lifestyle. The only difference from yours is he eats a few more carbs and doesn’t exercise quite as much, though that’s normal given he’s twenty years older than you are. Well, and he doesn’t have your bad habits.”

“Wine, women, and tobacco?” I said with smirk.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the incident in Japan?”

“You saw how out of it I was when I arrived at O’Hare, and I just didn’t think about it until Malik commented about monitoring me.”

“Please don’t forget to report things like that,” Jessica said as I made a left turn onto 75th Street.

“We know it’s the adrenaline. I had that weak-in-the-knees feeling when I led my first class in Japan from the adrenaline. That ‘flight’ response my body has to situations like that.”

“Which is weird because you LOVE doing that stuff. There is something very, very strange about your physiology.”

“Which is the same diagnosis I received from the Mayo Clinic after $25,000 worth of tests there, not to mention the $15,000 or so from UofC. You doctors are real geniuses.”

“Tiger...” Jessica warned.

“I’m just teasing, Babe! On the plus side, our insurance paid for most of that. Before I forget, when do you need to get your applications in for Attending jobs?”