Marjorie Riley with her husband, Clement, at The Encore Shop where she volunteers each week.
For the past 30 years, Marjorie Riley has been an active volunteer at The Encore Shop, an upscale consignment boutique benefitting patients of Chester County Hospital. She works behind the scenes processing merchandise and pricing items as a consigner.
"We see beautiful items brought into the store with tags still on them. I think to myself, 'wow, this has never been worn.' The proceeds provide services for the hospital," said Riley.
Although she has had a long-standing connection with Chester County Hospital, she did not expect to require the life-saving care that she has always supported through her volunteer work.
On February 10, 2017, Riley was getting ready to run some errands. As she was about to leave her home, she turned back to grab her scarf when she started to feel uncomfortable.
"I sat down at my kitchen table and just didn't feel right. I was a little nauseous but overall OK. I didn't realize how serious it would become," she explained.
Once she was sitting down, she suddenly couldn't breathe. She was gasping for air and tried to cry out for help before she passed out completely. "I don't know how my husband heard me, but I'm thankful he did," she added.
Her husband, Clement Riley, rushed to her aid and called 9-1-1. The responders dispatched emergency services and instructed him on how to perform hands-only CPR so that he could begin the chain of survival.
Once EMT's arrived, they transported Riley to the Emergency Department at Chester County Hospital, where a team of physicians were waiting to treat her. As part of protocol, EMT's announce specific codes so that hospital staff are immediately available to tend to emergent patients.
Riley's call was a "code blue" - she had experienced sudden cardiac arrest.
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When this happens, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs. If not treated within minutes, SCA may cause death.
While in the ED, Riley required additional CPR to be revived. This time by Christopher Ware, MD, an emergency physician at the hospital. She was whisked up to the catheterization lab where cardiologist Zainal Hussain, MD implanted an intra-aortic balloon pump to help increase blood flow through the coronary arteries, reducing the workload on the heart.
Riley spent the next few days in the critical care unit, where she underwent a cooling process to help protect against organ failure until she was stabilized. Despite her improvement, she continued to have persistent atrial fibrillation. A series of echocardiograms revealed that she had severe mitral regurgitation, a condition where the mitral valve does not properly close allowing blood to flow backward into the heart. A clot was also discovered in the upper left chamber of her heart.
She was scheduled for a mitral valve repair and a left atrial appendage excision with Steven Weiss, MD, chief of Cardiac Surgery at Chester County Hospital. "Dr. Weiss told me the stars were aligned when I had my cardiac episode," Riley said.
Dr. Weiss added, "Many things had to go right for Mrs. Riley to have such an incredible outcome. From her husband successfully performing CPR, to urgent cath lab resuscitation, excellent intensive care management, and thorough investigation to find the cause of her event. All the members of her care team, including her husband, are to be congratulated."
In less than a week after her valve repair, Riley had a pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) combination put in. An ICD continuously monitors heart rhythms. If it detects a dangerous rhythm, such as ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, which can cause sudden cardiac arrest, it delivers a life-saving shock, preventing the patient from experiencing another arrest.
All Chester County Hospital patients who have cardiac surgery receive a red pillow in the shape of a heart. It is designed to provide sternum support when coughing after surgery. Riley's is signed by her nurses, physicians and surgeons.
She pointed out one of her favorite notes from a nurse named Mary Fe, "Dear Ms. Marjorie - Please do take care. May the good Lord bless you and your family." Her husband Clement also signed her pillow with a sweet and simple message, "Love ya."
When discussing her experience, it brings a tear to her eye. "Once I realized I was in the hospital, everybody I came in contact with was wonderful. I was so impressed with how concerned and caring the team was. The nurses visited with me and told me who they were and what they did. The entire team was exceptional and it showed in the way they interacted with me. My husband attributes it as an example of leadership and I couldn't agree more," she said.
After she was cleared to go home, Riley began cardiac rehabilitation for 18 weeks to help regain her strength so she could return to an active lifestyle. For regular exercise, she joined a SilverSneakers program - a free fitness membership that provides physical activities for seniors as a way to maintain good health.
She is also looking forward to continuing to play golf once the weather warms up. "I play at the Kennett Country Club. My contemporaries took good care of me once I recovered from surgery last season. I never had to pick up the ball - just hit it," she said with a laugh. "Clem and I will be heading to Florida soon and we will play a few rounds down there. And once the season starts, I'll be back in full swing at Kennett."