It may not have been on the agenda when Michael Anderson visited Connecticut this week, but the 55-year-old from Jamaica couldn't have been happier to see Hartford Hospital on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack during the blizzard.
At the height of the snow storm, Anderson started experiencing severe chest pain and knew he would have to call 911.
“I was apprehensive in calling, saying, ‘Why should I call someone in this bad weather?’’’ Anderson explained. “I was trying to be good.”
Even with treacherous travel along the snow-covered streets, East Hartford’s emergency responders rushed to the rescue. They loaded Anderson onto a stretcher and whisked him away.
“It was one, two, three,” Anderson said.
Over at Hartford Hospital, Dr. Paul Thompson’s team was waiting. The chief of cardiology explained that the longer an artery is blocked, the more cardiac muscle is being injured during the heart attack.
“The goal is to get everything done in 90 minutes. The national average is somewhere around there,” Thompson said. “This individual, despite the fact that there was a big storm, got the whole thing done in 56 minutes.”
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Anderson said those 56 minutes flew and he didn’t feel a thing.
“It went so fast, I didn’t even realize I had heart surgery,” he said.
Today, Thompson tipped his hat to the staff that showed up even as the snow came down, calling the entire process a true “team effort.”
When asked how that team performed under pressure, the patient said he couldn’t be more pleased.
“Superb. I have been well taken care of,” Anderson said.
