Regional Collaboration for Lifesaving By Shannon Carroll Kootenai Health has shared many stories and health tips over the years stressing the importance of exercising, eating healthy and getting regular checkups. While all these standard reminders for better health are extremely important, sometimes it isn’t the preventive measures that can mean the difference between life and death—it’s the actions of others who change the course of a person’s life. In fact, recently, the seamless actions of many brought one man back from the brink of death on an otherwise uneventful, sunny September day. Unfamiliar pain Natives of Montana, Sue and George Bache met in high school, married young and raised two girls in California. As they inched toward retirement, they were excited to move back to the Inland Northwest to be closer to their roots and enjoy their outdoor passions of skiing, boating and hiking. After a yearlong build, Sue and George’s new dream home in Dover, Idaho, was finally complete and ready to share for the first time with family. Their recent 43rd wedding anniversary seemed like the perfect opportunity to celebrate. As Sue busily hurried about the house, readying it for their guests, George complained of a severe Lori Garza, RN, Bonner General emergency department nurse, with George Bache. A near-death experience that started in Dover ends happily in Coeur d’Alene, thanks to Kootenai Health and regional partners —Continued on page 6 KH . ORG 5 headache and told her he needed to lie down. The pain was such that he could not rest. Although never prone to migraines, George took out his smartphone and searched “Migraine” in the hopes of better understanding what he was experiencing. That is the last thing he remembers from that morning, but Sue remembers every detail all too well. “George had come out of the bedroom after lying down didn’t help his headache. He sat on the sofa in the living room as I was getting ready to go to the store,” said Sue. “I saw his head tilted back and I thought, ‘Boy, he fell asleep fast.’” But as Sue got closer, she noticed his mouth and eyes were wide open. George didn’t respond to Sue’s shouts and her attempts to shake him awake. “I was terrified and immediately called 911,” Sue said. “I knew I needed to give him CPR, but it had been a long time since I had learned it—20 years or so. The 911 operator, Jennine, was a godsend—she kept me focused and talked me through the whole thing until the ambulance arrived.” The paramedic team shocked George’s heart to get it into rhythm and used an innovative mechanical device to assist with cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Several sheriff’s deputies also responded to the call and helped quickly get George on the road to Bonner General Health in Sandpoint. “I drove behind the ambulance and stayed on their bumper the whole way,” said Sue. “I just kept praying, ‘Lord, don’t let him die.’” 911 dispatcher Jennine Whitt helped Sue Bache perform CPR until the ambulance arrived.
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