Even though he has not yet hit his first full year as a team member at St. Luke’s Fruitland, Enrico “Bobby” Brown says, “I’m lucky to be working there.”
That took on even more meaning back in March for the licensed practical nurse at the medical plaza, which features a 24-hour emergency department, imaging, clinics and is a Level II STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) center as designated by the Idaho State Time Sensitive Emergencies Council.
Being heart aware and well-trained, Brown gained a further appreciation for them when he started to feel strange late in the morning of his shift.
“It felt like my lungs were on fire,” Brown said. “It felt like the gas chamber (exercise) we did in basic training (in the Army). I thought at first it could be anxiety, as I had quit smoking about two months prior.
“It came and went. I did my job evaluating patients, but I was evaluating myself, too.”
Around 7 p.m., checking on his last patient of the day, he was hit with an overwhelming sense of anxiety. Brown went to the nurse’s station and put his hands on the desk. Sweat started pouring.
“I knew exactly what it was — I was having a heart attack,” Brown said.
Nurse Larry Green suggested Brown be set up with an electrocardiogram to detect his heart’s activity. Medical assistant Beatriz Daniel took charge and quickly realized an ED visit was necessary. Along with imaging, a cardiac troponin test was ordered and with elevated levels, the decision was made to send Brown to the St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center for further evaluation.
By the time an ambulance arrived and another test was done, the troponin levels had almost tripled. It was time to leave immediately.
“This situation also underscored the critical value of having highly competent and efficient laboratory and imaging teams,” said Amanda Mendive, Fruitland Urgent Care manager. “Their expertise and responsiveness are invaluable in rapidly determining a diagnosis and guiding next steps in care.
“We are fortunate to have some of the finest lab and imaging technicians working in our building. While their work often happens behind the scenes, they are truly the backbone of what we do in this facility and their contributions were essential to this outcome.”
After arriving in Boise at the cardiac catheterization lab, Brown was X-rayed and then quickly wheeled into surgery to have a stent placed.
This content is sourced from
St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center
. It reflects the author's views and has not been edited by our newsroom. It may have been generated using AI assistance.
