Great save event underscores the critical importance of immediate, life-saving care
Lee’s Summit Medical Center recognized the fast actions of Lone Jack Fire Department, EMS and hospital care teams whose immediate and collaborative efforts, helped save 38-year-old Vincent, "Vinnie", Amorielo. Vinnie was a young, healthy, hard-working man, who has thrived on living a healthy lifestyle. In fact, he played competitive baseball and was even offered a full-scholarship to play college baseball. Although he took a different path, he enjoys playing ball with his eight-year-old boy and attending games with his wife.
On Sunday, December 15th, 2024, Vinnie woke up feeling great with plans for an active day. However, within an hour he experienced sudden right-sided weakness and numbness, as well as some difficulty with his speech. Due to his weakness, he was unable to get up, or call for help. Somehow, he was able to text a cryptic message to his wife, Liz who immediately called 9-1-1. Lone Jack Fire reached Vinnie within five minutes and quickly recognized the symptoms of a stroke. The EMS team activated a “Code Stroke” from the field alerting Lee’s Summit Medical Center of the pending arrival of a potential stroke patient.
This activation was critical: Vinnie was suffering from a near fatal stroke, and every minute mattered! Vinnie was rushed to the hospital’s “designated stroke launchpad” where he was immediately greeted by the specialized stroke team for assessment, testing and intervention. Within 23 minutes of arrival, Vinnie received the clot-busting medication, tenecteplase or TNK, a thrombolytic drug used to break down blood clots in the brain, and restore blood flow to the brain.
Vinnie spent five days in the hospital undergoing intensive rehabilitation and extensive testing to determine the cause of the stroke. It was at this time he learned the shocking news: “You have a large hole in your heart, and more than likely you have had this your entire life.” This condition, patent foramen vale, or PFO, is a condition where a flap-like opening in the heart's wall between the two upper chambers (atria) fails to close properly after birth. The news was shocking, as he never had a sign or symptom – especially during so many years in competitive baseball.
Vinnie immediately thought of his young son, family, and had fears about his future. That motivated him to work passionately with his care team to develop short and long-term plans to not only recover from the stroke, but also prepare for heart surgery. He was discharged home on December 20, 2024 with outpatient therapy. The next day, he took on physical therapy on himself: Vinnie walked with his cane two blocks to Lone Jack Fire station with homemade cookies to thank the crews.
Once discharged from therapy in February, Vinnie’s doctor had arranged an appointment Jayasheel Eshcol, MD, interventional cardiologist with Midwest Heart and Vascular Specialists at Research Medical Center for a cardiology evaluation to close the PFO in his heart. The systems of care offered at HCA Midwest Health provided Vinnie the opportunity to receive specialized, seamless healthcare at both Lee’s Summit Medical Center and Research Medical Center where physicians had immediate access to his health records, health history and goals for recovery. Following the evaluation, Dr. Eschol collaborated with Vinnie and his care team to schedule surgery. Following successful heart surgery to close the PFO, Dr. Eschol shared with Vinnie and his family that the 22mm hole in his heart was one of the largest he had seen. It was a miracle he had survived.
“I am so grateful for the physicians and caregivers at Lee’s Summit Medical Center and Research Medical Center,” says Vinnie. “I had no idea how close I was at losing my life, and had it not been for Lone Jack Fire, first responders and the highly coordinated care between both hospitals, I wouldn’t be on the sidelines of my son’s game, or cooking with my wife. Even today, every time we pass Lone Jack Fire, I blow them a kiss.”
“The Great Save allows us to acknowledge remarkable efforts made each day in providing immediate pre-hospital care to patients like Vinnie when minutes matter,” says Lee’s Summit Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Gabe Clements. “This Great Save is particularly poignant and significant, as it is not only EMS Week, but it is also National Stroke Awareness Month. We hope that by Vinnie sharing his healthcare journey at both hospitals, not only are First Responders honored, but the community will learn more about stroke signs and symptoms and take action.”