"We will be forever grateful to Indian River Medical Center for saving Norm's life."

December 29, 2007, started out nicely for Norm and Joan LeBlanc. The Vero Beach residents had just returned to Florida after celebrating Christmas with their children and grandchildren in Massachusetts. The couple was looking forward to ringing in the New Year a little bit early with friends that evening. As they planned their day, they had no idea that Norm’s life was in jeopardy.

After spending the holidays in the chilly north, Norm and Joan were eager to enjoy some Florida sunshine and one of their favorite pursuits—a game of golf at Bent Pine Golf Club.

Norm started off on the back nine while Joan played four holes behind.

“I was on the fourteenth hole when it happened,” Norm says, adding, “I thought I had indigestion, so I went over to the tenth hole to ask Joan for a TUMS®. I played until the seventeenth hole. That’s when the chest pain really grabbed me hard and I felt sweaty.”

It was just after 10 in the morning.

Norm drove himself to the clubhouse while his golfing buddies called 911. “I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he recalls. Five minutes after Norm pulled up to the clubhouse, an ambulance arrived. He was rushed to the Emergency Department at Indian River Medical Center.

“When I arrived at the hospital, it was like an army was there waiting for me! Everything moved very quickly and I received excellent care. A cardiac catheterization revealed a complete blockage in my left anterior descending artery. I was prepped so that Dr. Jay Midwall could perform an interventional procedure that would place a stent in my coronary artery. Everyone was very nice to my wife. The nurse went out to the waiting room and told her, ‘Come give your husband a kiss before he goes in for his procedure.’”

What began as a leisurely day had become a whirlwind of activity and worry. As Joan reflects on the sequence of events, she marvels: “By noon, Norm had played eight holes of golf, taken an ambulance ride to Indian River Medical Center, been admitted through the Emergency Department and received lifesaving treatment in The Heart Center. Altogether, from the time the ambulance arrived to when the stent was inserted, only 90 minutes had lapsed.”

After a frightening morning, Norm was especially grateful for the professional and compassionate care he received in the cardiac cath recovery unit. “When you’re in recovery and ‘out of it,’ you appreciate being doted on. The care was really excellent—Dr. George Mitchell (Medical Director of Critical Care Medicine) prides himself on that.”

During his seven-day stay at Indian River Medical Center, Norm’s appreciation did not wane. “The private rooms were great and the nurses were super,” he comments.

Joan concurs with her husband’s opinion. “A complete blockage like the one Norm had often doesn't show up until an autopsy. That's why doctors call it the ‘widow maker.’ Because of the efforts of the Indian River staff and the generosity of donors, Norm and I count ourselves fortunate to know what the phrase means without having to experience the effect of those menacing words.”

She continues, “What I’m saying is—I would have been a widow if it weren’t for the staff and the donors who helped build a state-of-the-art Emergency Department and Heart Center.”

Norm and Joan have joined many members of the community by supporting the Indian River Medical Center Foundation. “One way we express our gratitude is through our annual support of the Foundation. We’re amazed at what the Foundation has accomplished at IRMC. Those accomplishments—and the hospital’s lifesaving services—are the reasons we make IRMC our top giving priority.”

- Joan and Norm LeBlanc
Vero Beach Residents,
Avid Golfers,
IRMC Foundation Supporters

If you would like to join the LeBlancs in supporting our community hospital, please click here, or contact us directly by phone, fax, or mail.

Donor support funded the following improvements:

Facilities
• High-tech Emergency Services Pavilion
• Duke-affiliated Heart Center
• Critical Care hospitality suite
• Surgical Services hospitality suite
• Cancer Center lobby renovation

Programs
• Patient Advocates provide non-clinical support to ER patients and families
• Clinical Excellence Awards recognize direct care providers
• Continuing Education helps maintain superior nursing care
• Nursing Innovation Unit creates a hospital-wide model for exceptional care

Equipment
• Stratus CS blood analyzing devices
• Stress test equipment
• Cardiopulmonary patient monitoring system
• Upgraded Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) System
• Hemodialysis machines
• Capsule endoscopy system
• PH monitoring system
• IV ultrasound device

2009-2010 Funding Priorities
• New Post Anesthesia Care and Surgical Intensive Care Units
• New Patient Care Services Pavilion
• State-of-the-art radiation oncology upgrade November 2009