Maine's emergency medical systems depends on teamwork

When Ashley Hathaway and James Verrill took their 8-month-old daughter, Paitn, to the emergency department (ED) in January 2008, they thought she had a bad cold that had turned into croup. They had no idea that the next few days would change their lives forever. The physicians and nurses in the ED at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta discovered Paitn’s heart rate had soared to 250 beats per minute and the oxygen level in her blood was dangerously low. They took x-rays of her chest and found her heart was three times bigger than it should have been.

Realizing Paitn needed very specialized treatment from an experienced pediatric cardiologist, the staff called for LifeFlight to transport her to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Doctors there suspected she was going to need a transplant, so they sent her to Boston Children’s Hospital. Specialists diagnosed Paitn with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and dilated cardiomyopathy. This caused her heart to become enlarged and too weak to pump blood efficiently. There was no cure.

Paitn was put on the waiting list for a transplant and in mid-March underwent a successful surgery for her new heart. After more recovery time in Boston, Paitn finally returned to her home in Maine in May, nearly four months after her ordeal began. She takes several medications every day and her parents need to be careful she is not exposed to a lot of bacteria. She doesn’t have many long term restrictions, however, and her parents are grateful that she has grown into a typical two-year-old.

“Paitn has a big personality, a truly spirited red-head. She loves to dance and sing, and generally just wants to be in the thick of things,” explains Ashley. “I’m so thankful for the expertise and good judgment of all the emergency medical providers who got Paitn where she needed to be, from the staff at MaineGeneral, to the LifeFlight crew, to the specialists in Portland, they all worked seamlessly to provide her with the best possible care.”

CREW MEMBERS
CommSpec Bill Bradley : Pilot Karl Hatlemark
Nurse Heather Cady : Paramedic Samuel Schaab