Recently, I had a heart attack. Thanks to my own training from when I was a young man in a Colorado search and rescue group, my wife’s quick 911 call and the professionalism of the Upper Pine Fire and Rescue first responders – in spite of the fact that they had been at a house fire with injuries most of the night before – I was in the emergency room in one hour and twenty minutes.
The professional staff at Mercy Medical Center immediately had me in the state-of-the art catheterization unit, installed two stents in my right coronary artery, and after three days in the intensive care unit I was released to go home.
I am currently participating in a cardio rehabilitation program at Mercy. Here again the quality of the care and the professionalism is outstanding. As a result of the professionalism and the outstanding first responders, and a medical facility that would be amazing for a city much larger than Durango, my doctors tell me they expect a 100 percent recovery with a fully functioning heart.
We should all be thankful that for such a small community, we have the finest first responders and such a magnificent life-saving medical facility.
Thomas Lehnhardt
Bayfield
